What comes before
by JazzyJane
Summary: Dean spends one summer with Bobby's niece, Kate. He sees how life can really be lived as a family, but his dad goes missing and he goes to get Sam from school. Years later they reconnect to save someone that they both love. Begins pre-series and then jumps to season 5. Rated M for language and smut
1. Chapter 1

Kate Reynolds kicked at the dirt, embarrassment staining her cheeks red. It was bad enough to get dumped at an uncle's that she hadn't seen since she was a baby, but to realize that not only didn't her mother call ahead, he was utterly opposed to taking in an eighteen year old girl for the summer.

"Come on Bobby, it's just for a few months till I can get back on my feet. I just can't drag her from place to place while I look for a job and a place to live," Sandy Reynolds pleaded. "You're the only person that she can even claim as kin." When Bobby shook his head, Sandy pulled out the last card she had. "What would my sister say if she knew that you refused to take in her only niece?"

"Balls," the old man grumbled. "Fine, the girl can stay, but only for three months. Agreed?"

Sandy sighed, relieved. "No problem. I'm sure I'll be able to get settled by then. Thanks Bobby." Taking her only daughter's shoulders she planted a kiss on Kate's forehead. "Be good for your uncle, and for heaven's sake, stay out of trouble."

The sullen teenager nodded and then watched as her mother climbed into the old Buick and headed down the dirt drive.

"Grab your things girl, I ain't got all day." Bobby said.

Reluctantly, she grabbed the duffel at her feet and followed him into the house. She caught the scent of some type of whiskey that clung to her uncle almost like cologne. She stepped through the front door and her eyes widened in surprise. The place was a mess. Books and random objects were piled on every available surface. She was surveying the living room when she heard someone clomping towards them.

"Hey Bobby!" a young man hobbled around the corner on a pair of crutches. "I think I got something about that-"

"Dean!" Bobby barked out. He cocked his head towards Kate. "We got company." He cleared his throat. "Dean's an old family friend."

Dean stopped so quickly, Kate was afraid that he might fall right off those crutches. She could see his eyes skim over her and she examined him as well. If she had to guess, he was probably twenty-two maybe twenty-three. His jeans were split right up the seam to make room for the large cast that encased his right leg from the upper thigh down. Only the tips of his toes were visible. His other foot wore a broken in work boot, and the worn denim clung to the well defined muscles in his left leg. Some sort of band t-shirt was barely visible underneath an open button-down.

She brought her eyes up to his face and paused. He was looking directly at her. Her bright blue eyes met his hazel ones. Although she wasn't exactly sure if hazel was the right word. They had specks of brown but were more green-gray. His light brown hair was short and spikey. A smile played at his lips.

"Dean this is Kate, she'll be staying here for a while." Bobby said.

Dean's eyes widened in surprise. "Bobby, you can't be serious."

"Well I am you idjit. Kate's family and needs a place for a while. She's going to take the extra room." He directed his next comment to her. "Top of the stairs and it's the third door on the left. Stay out of the other rooms, you hear me? I mean it, if a door is shut, keep it that way."

"Sure Bobby," Kate said softly. Hoisting her bag a little higher, she climbed the stairs and pushed open the door to the room Bobby had indicated.

"Ugh," she groaned. The room smelled like rotting books and dirt. She could almost taste the stale air. Tossing her things on the bed, which caused a cloud of dust to rise up, she marched over to the windows to open them. Gulping in the fresh air gratefully, she turned to survey the small room.

Like every other room she'd seen so far, it was covered in books. Not paperbacks, but big old books with leather spines. Picking up one of the closest volumes she was surprised to see it was in Greek. She didn't know much about Bobby Singer besides the fact that he had once been married to her mother's sister Karen and that she'd died years ago. All her mother ever said about him, was that after Aunt Karen died he got strange. If what she'd seen so far was typical, Kate would have to agree.

Tossing the book aside, she set about making the room livable.

A few hours later, she finished spreading the freshly washed sheets across the bed. The blanket and quilt were too large to fit into the dryer, but they were hanging on the clothesline out back. With any luck they'd be dry by bedtime. Even if they weren't, no big deal, June in South Dakota was typically pretty warm.

Realizing that she was starving, Kate headed downstairs. She opened up the fridge and stared into it, not quite sure of what she was seeing. Beer dominated the top shelf, but there on the shelf next to the bottles was a jar of what looked like blood.

Gingerly, she picked up the mason jar. Holding it up to the light, she slowly turned it, looking for something that might be in it. Not seeing anything, she hesitated, torn between going and asking her uncle what the hell it was, and putting it back. Sensing Bobby wouldn't appreciate any questions, she put the jar back in the fridge. Seeing nothing edible in the fridge next to the mystery jar, she turned to check the cabinets which yielded nothing except a can of green beans that looked like they were from the Kennedy era and a half empty box of pasta.

"There's no food," she complained walking into the family room.

Bobby and Dean looked up from the baseball game. "Uh, we usually just get take out," Bobby said.

"I'm not eating takeout for three meals a day," Kate protested. "Give me the car keys and some money and I'll go grocery shopping." When Bobby just looked at her she said, "Or I can sit down and you can explain to me what you're watching. I've never watched a baseball game before."

Bobby pushed himself up. "You're a real pain in the ass, you know that?"

Kate shrugged, "I've heard that a time or two."

* * *

Soon as he heard the old pickup rumble down the driveway Dean turned to the older man. "What the fuck Bobby? What were you thinking?"

Bobby fixed his eye on Dean. "You best watch it. This is still my house. That girl needs a place to stay and I gave it to her. End of story."

Dean drained his beer all in one long gulp. "There's no way that she's going to be able to stay here and not figure things out. Hell, I mean look at this place. You got books about every monster ever to be rumored to set foot on this planet, not to mention the other odds and ends that you got stashed everywhere." Dean turned back to the tv. "Did you take that lamb's blood out of the fridge?"

Bobby glanced towards the kitchen. "Balls."

Dean chuckled and leaned back. "If you're going in the kitchen to move it, want to bring me back another beer?"

He sat back and thought about the girl with the black hair and startling blue eyes.

* * *

"What is it?" Dean pushed at the food.

"Fried catfish, spinach and cornbread," Kate replied, sounding a lot more confident than she was. She cooked for herself a lot, but tended to stay with the same few items all the time. While they tended to come out above average, if she did say so herself, she didn't think she was going to be able to sell these two on tofu and plain chicken breasts.

"Were they out of ground beef?" Dean asked.

"Just eat it Dean. It wouldn't kill you to skip a cheeseburger every once in a while," Bobby said. "Besides, smells pretty good." He speared a forkful and ate it. "Tastes pretty good too."

Kate took a cautious bite of the fish and was relieved to find that it was actually quite good. She'd have to thank the lady behind the fish counter for the recipe next time she was in the grocery store.

Dinner was quiet, with everyone content just to eat the food on their plate. The only noise was from the comedy show on the TV and the occasional satisfactory grunt or smacking of the lips.

"Girl, where'd you learn to cook like that? I know it wasn't from your mother. That woman could make a steak taste like cardboard." Bobby leaned back and patted his stomach appreciatively.

"It's good," Dean chimed in with his mouth half full. "Is there any more cornbread?"

"Thanks," Kate said as she passed Dean the tray. "I guess it's probably because my mom's such a bad cook. Dad pretty much always did the cooking, but once he took off, it was either learn or suffer."

"I'd say you learned pretty well. Be nice to have some real food around here for a change." Bobby smiled.

"Figured I might as well earn my keep somehow, seeing that you're stuck with me." She pushed back from the table and began to gather the dishes.

Dean hobbled over to stand next to her. "You wash, I'll dry."

"That'd be great," Kate said passing him a dish. "What happened to your leg anyway and why you holding up at Bobby's?"

Dean cleared his throat. "Bobby's an old family friend. I work with my dad, and we travel around a lot. Don't really have a home base. Anyways, when I broke my leg, seemed like staying with Bobby would be the best thing."

Realizing that he hadn't answered her first question, she asked slowly, "So…how'd you break it?"

Not quite meeting her eyes, Dean replied, "Fell."

Kate narrowed her eyes, convinced he wasn't exactly telling her the truth. "Must have been some fall."

Dean scoffed. "You have no idea."

* * *

Dean hobbled into Bobby's study, pulling the pocket doors shut behind him. "Man, I don't know what's wrong with me." He poured himself two fingers of bourbon and tossed it back. "I can't lie to her."

Bobby looked up from the book he'd been pursuing. "What the hell you talking about? You lie to people all the time."

Tossing back a second glass of the amber liquid he shook his head. "I know, right? She asked me how I fell and I couldn't think of anything to say."

"Well what did you tell her?" Bobby asked.

"Fell. That's it, one word."

Bobby threw up his hands. "Fell? Dean, you broke your leg in three places and have a cast all the way to your hip. Tripping on the sidewalk doesn't typically cause that. Not unless you're an eight-five year old lady."

"Ya, well…. I couldn't very well tell her that a werewolf threw me into a tree. I'll figure something out."

"You better," Bobby said. "That girl has Karen's blood in her. I don't want my last remaining kin getting mixed up with what we do."

Dean couldn't help but look in the direction of where he last saw her. "I hear ya Bobby. I don't want to get her involved any more than you do."

* * *

Kate was bored. Not just slightly bored but really bored. So bored that for the last five days she'd taken to scrubbing Bobby's house from top to bottom. Well, at least the rooms she was allowed in.

Bobby and Dean's room were off limits of course, but there was the study. Bobby must have shut the doors leading to the room right after she got there and they had been shut ever since. It irked her that Bobby and Dean would hold up in there for hours at a time, talking in low voices and answering what seemed to be a system of phones.

And while they were in there doing God knows what, she was relegated to cooking, cleaning, and watching horrible daytime tv. She tried to change the channel but nothing was happening. She smacked the device against the coffee table but it still didn't work. Frustration boiled up in her and she began banging it harder and harder.

"Everything alright?" Dean asked from behind her.

"No." In disgust she tossed the battered remote aside. "I've been here for five days and the only time I've been out of the house is to go to the grocery store." Irritated with the voice coming out of the tv, she marched over and hit the power button hard enough to make the unit rock. "If I have to watch one more talk show I'm going to scream."

Dean smiled, "Then let's get out of here."

* * *

Since his right leg was the one in the cast, Kate drove into town. Dean didn't mind it gave him a chance to study her. Like every female he ever knew, she refused to head into town without going upstairs and doing whatever it was they did in the bathroom. Though he had to admit, she had been faster than most and the results were spectacular.

Up until now she had dressed in loose tops paired with cargo pants. When she had come down the stairs Dean had just about fallen off his chair. Kate was dressed in a tight top that showed a strip of pale skin and a pair of jeans that hugged her figure all the way down. If she had paired the outfit with high heels Dean would have thought that she looked borderline trashy, but she hadn't. Instead she had put on a pair of red sandals with just the smallest hint of a heel.

She had put on make-up too, not so that you could really see it, but she managed to highlight just how beautiful she was. No, beautiful wasn't the right word. Her face didn't hold to classic beauty. It was a little too unusual. Her cheekbones were high but her nose was a little too angular, her mouth a touch too full. But when it was put all together, her features fit her face perfectly. And with the unusual combination of long jet black hair and piercing blue eyes, Dean had to admit, she was a show stopper. But she was also Bobby's niece and just a kid at that.

"You want to get a bite to eat first?" Kate asked.

"What? Oh yeah, that'd be good." Dean stammered. He hoped she hadn't realized that he'd been staring at her for the last few miles. "Kay's Dinner is on Tresson Street. Just go down Main and take a right after the post office."

"Going through burger withdrawal?" Kate laughed. "Think you've asked for a burger at least once a day since I've been here."

Dean chuckled. "You noticed. I thought I was losing my touch for a while."

"Dean, I have a feeling you're about as subtle as a sledgehammer when you want something."

* * *

Kate held the door open for Dean so he could swing himself through into McKay's. Dean couldn't help but notice all the men that turned to look as Kate walked in the door. He started to reconsider the wisdom of bringing her here. "Come on," he said gruffer than he meant to. "Over here."

Nimbly Dean maneuvered around the pool tables and patrons till he came to the one open table. "Wanna rack or break?"

"Considering your handicap, I'll rack this time." She held out her hand. "I'm assuming you brought some quarters."

She wasn't half bad, Dean admitted to himself. With some practice she could actually be quite good. "Where'd you learn to play?" he asked.

"There was the movie theater or the pool hall, you went to one or the other or both on Fridays and Saturdays." Kate took aim at the three ball and knocked it into the side pocket.

"Nice shot. So small town then?" Dean took another swig of his beer.

Kate scoffed. "The smallest. Pretty much everyone in town worked at the factory."

Dean pulled his eyes away from her heart shaped ass. "So what happened, why'd you come here?"

"When the factory closed, the whole town started to dry up. Mom lost her job and couldn't find another, everyone was out of work. Day after I graduated, Mom packed us up and here I am." The four ball missed the pocket and Dean sighed with relief as she straightened.

"And it's just the two of you? You and your mom I mean?"

"Yeah, my dad took off years ago, and my mom doesn't have any family left." Kate sat down on the stool next to him. "What about you? Is it just you and your dad?"

"Nope, I have a little brother, Sam. He's at Stanford, pre law or some such bull shit." Dean felt a twinge talking about Sam. "Haven't seen him in almost two years though." The twelve ball found it's pocket, followed by the fourteen and the nine.

"Why not?" Kate asked. "You don't seem like the type of person that turns his back on family."

Dean missed the eight ball almost completely. "Son of a bitch." He looked across the pool table at her. "It was Sam's choice. He wanted Stanford, he didn't want the family business."

She slowly walked around the table to stand right beside him. Her perfume filled his nose. It was light and musky, Dean felt his stomach tighten. "And what exactly is the family business? I haven't been able to figure that out."

Dean's mind raced frantically for the answer he and Bobby had decided on. "Uh, consulting on construction projects. Budgets, material selection, things like that."

"Huh," Kate looked down at the table. "Excuse me, you're in my way." She lined up the shot and sunk the four ball. As she lined up for the eight ball she asked, "Don't you have contracts, things like that? I would think that a lawyer would come in handy for things like that." The eight ball dropped cleanly into the pocket. "My game. Do you wanna play another?"

Damn the girl was too smart for her own good. Quickly Dean drained his beer. "Sure. I gotta hit the head. Have the waitress bring another, would ya?"

* * *

When he emerged a short time later, Kate was talking to a heavyset guy. As he approached, he heard him say, "See you Thursday then."

Kate shook his hand. "See you then."

"What was that?" Dean asked, sliding into the stool next to her.

Kate beamed at him. "I got a job waitressing here, every Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday nights."

Dean looked around. The bar was filled with truckers, bikers and just all around rough looking guys. "Here? You're going to work here?"

Kate pushed her hair back. "Why not here? Our waitress, Lacey says she makes great tips on the weekends and it's not too bad during the week either. Talk about good timing, I guess one of their waitresses just gave notice yesterday."

"I don't know Kate, I don't think Bobby's going to like this."

Kate clamped her jaw tightly. "Well Bobby doesn't have any choice in the matter. I'm eighteen and I can work anywhere I want. He's giving me a place to crash for a while, not taking over as a parent."

"Okay….. You're decision. I got it." Dean gave her an admiring look. She was sexy as hell when she was angry. "I guess it's my turn to rack."

Kate sipped her soda, visibly relaxing. "Damn right it is."

AC/DC's Rock and Roll Ain't Noise Pollution started playing on the jukebox. "Oh! I love this song!" Kate cried and started singing along. "Whiskey, gin and brandy, With a glass I'm pretty handy, I'm trying to walk a straight line, On sour mash and cheap wine."

"Wait, wait," Dean interrupted her. "You know AC/DC?" he asked dubiously.

"Why shouldn't I like AC/DC?"

Dean tossed the last ball into the triangle. "I don't know, you're young…and a girl."

Kate sashayed her way over in time to the music. As she positioned the cue ball she said, "I'm not that much younger than you and I don't see what being a girl has to do with anything." She hit the ball and sent the racked ones flying all over the table.

"Well if you know so much about them, what album did this song come from?" Dean challenged her.

Kate rolled her eyes. "Back in Black. It was their seventh album released in Australia, but only their sixth international release. It was also the first album after Bon Scott's death. It has since become the second best selling album of all time." She looked up from her shot. "Any more questions?"

"Nope," Dean said. "Think that just about covers it."

* * *

"Everyone shows up for graduation and there's this giant pink elephant sitting right in front of the stage. I have no idea how they ended up getting it off the trailer but they did somehow."

"You're kidding," Dean said slamming the passenger door shut.

Kate laughed, "They ended up moving the podium all the way to the far side so people could see. It made for some interesting pictures I bet."

Dean chuckled, "Sounds like something I probably would have tried to do."

Kate looked him over, "I bet you would've. Probably would have figured out a way to get that thing on the stage too."

"You two have a good time?" Bobby asked coming in from the kitchen with a beer.

Kate nodded. "I got a job down at McKay's, three nights a week."

Bobby frowned. "You don't gotta work, especially at McKay's."

"It's good pay and they were hiring. I can't sit around here all the time, I'll go crazy." She gave Bobby a quick kiss on the cheek. "Don't worry so much. I'm going to bed." She started up the stairs but turned around after just a few steps. "Thanks for taking me out Dean, I had a great time."

"Yeah, me too." He watched as she climbed the rest of the stairs.

Bobby's hand shot out and smacked him off the back of the head. "Don't even think about it," he growled.

Dean rubbed the sore spot. "I wasn't!" he protested.

Bobby grunted, clearly not convinced. "Come on, your dad called. We got to do some work."

Dean risked another glance up the steps before following Bobby into the study.

* * *

**Hi y'all. You might have noticed that I've changed the timing of the story from Canon. Dean was three, not four when his mother died, and Sam's only been at college for two full years. I hope you all don't mind this, but I needed it for the story to work. Let me know what you think. This is my first supernatural fic, although I've watched it from the moment it started. (It's one of my favs). **

**Please review. Even if you just give me an emoticon, at least I'll have an idea of how you feel about it. There's nothing worse than seeing that people have read what you wrote and they don't give you any feedback. Positive, negative, neutral... I can handle it all. **


	2. Chapter 2

Kate yawned as she poured the coffee. She hadn't slept well last night, she kept have strange dreams with monsters in them. Must be all the weird books of Bobby's she'd been reading lately. She'd have to pick up something a bit more soothing to read next time she went into town.

Sipping on the coffee she pulled out a frying pan. She'd get some bacon cooking, that would wake those two guys up.

As she waited for the skillet to heat up, she headed into the living room to see if she could find something decent to read while cooking. Unbelievably, the study door was open slightly. Giving in to temptation, she tiptoed over to the crack and peered in.

Both Bobby and Dean were sound asleep, Bobby in his chair, leaning across his desk, Dean on the couch. Neither of them stirred when one of the phones on the wall began to ring.

Kate bit her lip, undecided about what to do. On one hand, Bobby had told her to stay out of this room, but on the other, he ran anytime one of those phones made a peep. Pushing the door open wider so she could slip into the room, she shook Bobby's shoulder. "Bobby, the phone," she said softly. When he didn't stir, she shook him harder. "Bobby! The phone!"

Bobby sprang upright in his chair and grabbed the receiver. "Agent Walker." He barked. After a brief pause he continued. "Well of course I sent him down there. Why else would he be there?" Another pause. "I don't have to explain our reasoning to you. This is a high priority. I expect you will give Agent Stevens your full cooperation." Bobby peeled off the business card that was stuck to his check. "Glad to hear it, goodbye."

Bobby replaced the handset that Kate now saw was labeled FBI. It was the third of five different lines, all labeled with masking tape, FBI, Health Department, CDC, Police, and U.S. Marshall. She was still looking at the phones when Bobby took her arm and steered her out of the room.

"If that's coffee I smell, we sure could use some. Thanks darling," Bobby gave her a gentle shove and promptly shut the door behind her.

Kate turned to stare at the door. "I am not a bloody waitress!" She called out.

Behind the doors, Dean started to laugh. "Thought you were as of last night!"

Pissed beyond words, Kate turned and stalked into the kitchen. She had the perfect plan.

* * *

"Still mad?" Dean peaked around the kitchen door. When she glanced over her shoulder at him and smiled, and nothing was thrown at him, he stepped though the doorway. "Smells great, I'm starving." Dean eyed the platters of golden pancakes and bacon hungrily. "Hey Bobby! Chow time!"

"Just finishing up here," Kate said sweetly. She took her time spooning the batter for the last few pancakes onto the griddle. When she heard a second chair scrape on the floor, she tossed the last three on top. She picked up both the dishes and plastered a smile on her face before turning around.

She headed towards the kitchen table and then veered off at the last minute. As the two men looked on in horror, she dumped the food, platters and all, right into the trash. Furious she spun around. "Feel free to fix your own God damn food from now on!"

She marched over to the oven and pulled out the plate that she'd already made up for herself. Kate sat down and poured syrup all over the silver dollar pancakes. Smiling at the two men, she began to eat.

Bobby sighed, "I'll get the cereal."

* * *

It was a tense three days. Kate fixed herself full meals every night and watched while the men made do with sandwiches and greasy takeout. She only talked to them if they asked her a direct question and even then she tried to keep it to a yes/no answer.

It wasn't until she walked through the door at 1:30 in the morning Thursday night that she got what she was looking for.

"Thanks for the ride Mike."

"No problem. Call me if you need me to pick you up on Saturday."

"Okay, I will, thanks." Flashing the bartender a smile, she jogged up the steps.

Kate eased the door open and tiptoed into the hall. As soon as she locked the door, she turned to go up the stairs. And almost banged right into Dean.

"Where the hell have you been? Bobby and I come out of the study and you're gone. There's no note, nothing." The voice was quiet and controlled. A little too controlled.

Kate sighed, she was exhausted and her feet were killing her. They were so swollen that she doubted that she'd even be able to fit them into anything other than flip flops for two days. "Work, I told you I was starting tonight."

Dean tossed back the bourbon that was in his glass. "Well you should have said something. Bobby was worried."

Kate began to lose her patience. "From the sound of the snores drifting down the staircase I can tell just how worried Bobby is."

"Well he was. It's not all roses and puppies out there you know. Especially not with you looking like…. that!" Dean gestured to her outfit.

Kate ran a hand over her miniskirt. "I'll have you know I got almost $200 in tips tonight, _on a Thursday_, and part of that was how I look. I'm a big girl Dean, I know how to take care of myself." She went to brush by him, but he grabbed her arm.

"You have no idea what's out there," he growled, his eyes boring into hers.

"Why don't you enlighten me then. What's out there Dean? A big bad scary monster?" Kate asked mockingly. She tried to rip her arm free of his grip but he held on tight.

"Yes and not just the human ones either! There's crap out there that you haven't imagined, not even in your worst nightmares." Suddenly Dean released her arm and swung himself back into the living room to pour another glass of amber liquid. "Shit," he muttered underneath his breath.

Kate looked at him for a moment before she followed him in and sat on the couch. There was something about the way he said it, that made her believe what he said. Or rather she believed that he believed it. And she had no doubt that this had everything to do with what happened the other day. "Why don't you explain to me what you're talking about."

Dean poured a second glass and offered it to her. "Take this, you're going to need it." Then he sat down and started explaining what the "family business" really was. Dean twirled the silver band that he wore on his right hand as he spoke. "It all started when I was three. My mother was killed by a demon."

Kate interrupted him. "Like a came up from hell, type of demon?" she asked incredulously.

"Yes, a real, straight from the pits of hell demon." He held her gaze steadily. Kate could detect no signs that he was giving her some b.s.

She looked down at the glass in her hand and then tossed the bourbon back. The liquor burned, causing her eyes to water slightly. "Hold on, I have a feeling I'm going to need another one of these."

* * *

When the sun peaked through the curtains, Kate gave up and pushed the covers off. She hadn't slept all night. What Dean had told her ran through her mind again and again. It was so crazy, that it couldn't be true. But it was apparent that he believed it with his whole being and whatever Dean may be, Kate didn't think that he was crazy. Add to that, Bobby was involved too. That apparently it hadn't been a machinery accident her aunt Karen, but that she had been killed when she was possessed by a demon.

It explained so much of what she'd seen and heard here already, but try as she might, she just couldn't wrap her head around it. Voodoo, Hoodoo, witches, werewolves, water spirits, ghosts, demons, it was all just too much.

She shoved her sore feet into her slippers and headed to the back porch. Kate sat down in one of the rockers and pulled the blanket she had brought down with her over her lap. She sat there and watched as the sun came up. By the sound of the footsteps, she knew it was going to be Bobby that pushed open the back door.

"So I hear Dean told you everything." He settled into the rocker next her. "I didn't want you to know anything about this."

Kate studied her uncle. "Why not? Why try to lie about it all?"

"It's not an easy thing to believe unless you've seen it yourself. I'm surprised that you didn't run from the house screaming last night." Bobby sighed heavily and stared into the junkyard. "The thing is, once you've seen it, it can take over your life. It fills your every waking minute until you don't have room for anything else. You look at everything differently. Karen wouldn't have wanted that for you. She talked about you every chance she got." Bobby's voice sounded wistful.

"You still miss her." Kate observed.

"Every day," Bobby said heavily. "But you know what really chaps my ass? She didn't have to die. If I had known then what I knew now, she'd still be alive."

Kate had a sudden insight. "That's why you do this. You can't turn back the clock but you can try to keep it from happening to others."

"That and to take out as many of those black eyed bastards as I can."

"I don't understand. What do you mean, black eyed?"

"Demons can look as normal as you or me, but when they want to show you what they are, their eyes go black. Not just the irises but the entire eye. It's enough to make you wish for a fresh pair of shorts the first time you see it."

"Jesus," Kate whispered.

"Don't know what his eyes do. Never met the man," Bobby deadpanned.

Kate looked at her uncle, eyes wide, and then burst into laughter. "You have a very sick sense of humor, you know that?"

"Ain't the first time I've heard that." Bobby stood up. "Come on with me. I want to show you something." Stepping off the stairs he began to head towards the junkyard.

"Wait, I need to change my shoes!" Kate called out. She had no desire to wind up needing a tetanus shot because of a rusty nail.

"We're not going far, you'll be alright." Bobby yelled back. "Hurry up."

She dashed after him, catching up just as he pulled a sliding door open on one of the out buildings. "Don't want you having to rely on others to get a ride around. It's not much to look at right now but it'll get you from a to b." He passed her a set of keys. "It's yours to use. I'll get Dean to give it a once over later, the kid's a hell of a mechanic."

Kate looked at the car in front of her. It was a faded green color and had a menagerie of dents, the antenna was broken and was missing a hubcap. She instantly fell in love with it. "Really Bobby? You mean it? You sure you don't mind? I'll take real good care of it, I promise." The words rushed out of her. She'd never had a car of her own to drive.

"Better you driving it than it just sitting out here rusting away."

Kate squealed and threw her arms around the gruff man. "I'm going to make you the best breakfast ever," she declared. She threaded her arm through his as they began to walk back to the house. "What's your poison? Waffles? Omelet? Quiche?"

Bobby broke out in a grin. "Does this mean I'm no longer in the dog house?"

Kate laughed. "You are definitely out of the dog house."

* * *

**Sorry for the short chapter, but I do feel like a lot happened in it. As always a reminder to please review. **


	3. Chapter 3

Setting the last plate in the dish strainer, Kate turned around. "Dean?" she asked softly.

Dean looked up from where he was still shoveling crepes into his mouth. "Yeah?"

The expression on his face reminded Kate of how her old dog used to look when he was caught doing something bad. "Bobby said that you're good with cars. He's letting me use one of his while I'm here. Said maybe you could take a look at it when you're done with breakfast?" She asked hopefully.

Dean swallowed the food that was in his mouth with difficulty. "Sure. What type of car is it?"

Kate's eyebrows shot up. "Um… a coupe?"

Throwing his fork on his plate, Dean looked at her in amazement. "A coupe. That's the best you got?" When she only shrugged, he grabbed his crutches and pushed himself to his feet. "Come on, let's go take a look at it."

Dean pushed open the doors and whistled. "That is no coupe. That's a 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda." He held up his arms. "This is a classic."

Kate just shook her head. His words meant nothing to her. "A what?"

"A Plymouth Barracuda. This is a _nice_ car. I didn't even know Bobby had this. He must have saved it from the crusher." Dean ran his hand over the worn paint. "You got the keys?" When she nodded he added, "Then pop the hood on this baby and let's start her up, see what she's got."

Kate skipped over to the car and climbed in. "This is great! There's so much room in here." She paused as she looked around. "Hmm, guess I'll have to practice driving a stick."

Dean's head popped around the hood. "You don't know how to drive a stick?" he asked disbelievingly.

"I know how," Kate said defensively. "I just haven't in a long time is all."

Dean sighed heavily, "Just start the damn car." He listened as the engine roared to life. "Give it a little gas." When the engine revved loudly, he yelled, "I said a little gas. Trying for takeoff?"

Kate let up on the pedal and stuck her tongue out at him. Even though she knew he couldn't see it, it made her feel better.

"Alright, you can shut it off."

"What do you think?" Kate popped out of the car.

"Needs a tune up, that's for sure." He reached in and pulled at a few things. "Couple new belts, fresh fluids, some body work…. All in all, not too bad. Bobby's done a good job." He itched at his casted leg. "Stupid thing."

"When you get that thing off?" Kate wondered.

"Tuesday, which reminds me, since I still can't drive, think you can give me a ride?" He shoved a screwdriver into his cast and began to move it around. "Thing itches worse than crabs." Kate began to laugh. "I mean, what I think crabs would be like," Dean stammered. "Whatever, shut up." He turned back to the car.

Still laughing, Kate asked, "Should I stop by the pharmacy later today?"

"I do not have crabs! I have never had crabs!" Dean insisted.

Kate pursed her lips. "Whatever you say Dean. Whatever you say."

Saturday Kate decided to tackle the hallway closet. She'd been putting it off since every time she opened it, arbitrary items fell out at her. There was an assortment of women's clothing, everyday bath products, and other random objects.

The clothes and specialty bath things she put into large bins, instinctively knowing that belonged to her Aunt Karen and that Bobby wouldn't want to get rid of them. The other items she began sorting through little by little. Strange objects got their own bin, the first time she came across a bone, she had shrieked in surprise. It was early afternoon when she finally discovered the turntable and crate of records.

"Hello beautiful," she said, blowing dust off the Billie Holliday album. "Where you been all my life?"

"Do you hear that?" Bobby asked.

Dean cocked his head. There was some type of music coming out of the kitchen. And then she began to sing.

"The very thought of you… and I forget to do… those little ordinary things …. that everyone ought to do…."

Bobby rushed into the kitchen. "Karen?"

Kate turned around from where she was making lasagna, "Did you say something Bobby?"

Dean thought for a second that he'd gone back in time. Kate's hair was done in a 1940's style and her lips were painted bright red. The apron that protected her dress was something out of a movie. Even her peep toe heels were out of a different era. She looked like a pin up girl, only better.

Bobby cleared his throat. "Nothing, you just…. Well Karen used to play this while she cooked."

"Really?" The interest on Kate's face was hard to disguise. "She liked this type of music too?"

"Loved it." Bobby replied. "Sang just like you do too, I thought you were her for a minute."

Kate smiled at her uncle. "Mom doesn't really talk about her too much. I think it hurts her, ya know? It's kinda nice to know something about her. Especially the little things."

Bobby smiled wistfully. "This kitchen used to be filled with music all the time."

"Well how about a dance?" Kate held her arms out to Bobby.

After a moment he stepped right into them. "People don't dance nearly enough," Kate said. "There's nothing better in the world."

"Your aunt used to say the exact same thing. She'd dance any chance she got." Bobby spun her and cleanly maneuvered her into a dip. Kate laughed with unabashed joy.

Dean looked on while the two twirled around the kitchen. He was surprised Bobby was so light on his feet.

The song came to an end and Bobby stepped back. "You've brought her back to this house and in the best way possible." He kissed Kate on the cheek and quickly disappeared back to the study.

Kate wiped the moisture from her eyes. "You going to stand there or help me out here?" she fired at Dean. "This is your dinner, you know."

He wasn't waiting up for her. He wasn't. He was doing research, never mind they had found what they were looking for before midnight. He was just being thorough, making sure they hadn't missed anything. It wasn't like he was checking the clock, 1:40, 2:01, 2:15 2:26, 2:31, finally at 2:44 he heard the car pull into the driveway. As it idled there he remembered that she had gotten a ride to the bar with one of the other waitresses.

So who had she gotten a ride home from?

"Thanks again Mike!" Kate called out. "See you Wednesday!"

Not wanting her to think that she was keeping tabs on her, Dean laid down on the couch and closed his eyes.

A few moments later he heard the front door close. He tried to breathe normally as he felt a blanket being tucked in around him. "Goodnight," she whispered as she smoothed the hair back from his forehead.

"Get up," he barked. When she only rolled over and buried herself in her blankets, he gave her a harsh nudge. "We're going to practice driving the car."

Kate groaned. "What time is it?"

"Nine. Get up, I don't have time for this." Dean snarled. He was in a bad mood. After she had gone to bed, he had kept trying to fall asleep, but every creak of the house had caused him to spring awake. Finally he decided that if he was going to be up, so was everyone else.

"It's too early," Kate complained.

Dean ripped the covers off her and immediately wished he hadn't. She'd gone to bed in a spaghetti tank top and thong. The sight of her bare skin made his groin tighten painfully.

"What the hell!" Kate exclaimed, pulling the covers up.

Dean sneered, "Don't flatter yourself sweetheart. Get up, we're going to practice driving your car." He stormed out of her room. As soon as the door was shut behind him, he leaned against the wall. "God give me strength," he prayed.

"You say something?" Bobby asked as he emerged from the bathroom.

Dean shook his head. "Nothing."

He was sure he had whiplash. "Let the clutch out at the same rate that you give it gas!" he yelled.

"I am!" Kate snarled at him. "The last manual car I drove was five years ago and it was a 1990 Saab. It's a little different." Frustrated, she pushed her bangs out of her face. "Just shut up! You're not making anything better."

Dean tried to keep quiet but when the car stalled out yet again he exploded. "What the fuck is wrong with you? Let the clutch out and step on the gas. How hard is that? What are you, an idiot?"

Kate looked at him for a moment and then pushed the driver's side door open. She slammed it hard enough to make the whole car rock.

Dean sat there for a moment, rubbing his face. He had been too hard on her from the moment she had stepped into the car and he knew it. Every little thing he had criticized and it had all only gotten worse as time went on.

Dean cursed himself and pushed open the door. As he made his way back to the house, he saw Bobby walking towards him. "Hey Bobby," he said dejectedly.

The slap took him off guard and he went sprawling in the dirt. It was far more demeaning than a punch.

"She came in crying. If you don't know how to treat a woman, let me know. I'll send you back to kindergarten," Bobby growled.

Dean picked himself up out of the dirt. "It's not my fault if she can't correct her mistakes!" Dean glared at the old man, but Bobby just frowned back at him. Finally, Dean relented, "I know, I'm an asshole. I don't know what's wrong with me."

Bobby looked at him for a long minute before he shook his head. "I've got so many ideas that I don't know what to do with them." He started back towards the house. "If I was you, I'd learn how to say sorry right quick."

The knock on the study door startled Dean. "Come on in," Bobby called.

"There's steaks in the marinating in the fridge waiting to be cooked along with a salad. Just toss it and it's ready to go. Also, I put some potatoes in the oven. The timer's set, but stick a fork in them just to make sure."

"Thanks Kate. When you think you're going to be home?"Bobby asked.

At the exact same time, Dean asked, "Where are you going?"

Without looking at Dean, Kate answered. "I shouldn't be home too late."

Bobby gave her an awkward hug. "Call if you have any problems."

Kate chuckled. "I have all ten numbers."

Dean looked at Bobby. "Where the hell is she going?"

Bobby settled himself back down behind the desk. "She has a date. Guess that guy, Mike, from her work invited her to a party down at Philips Pond."

"You're just letting her go?"

"Why not?" Bobby asked. "She's young, she deserves some fun. Besides, she's not exactly the irresponsible type, is she?"

Dean ignored the last question. "What do you know about this Mike guy? He could be trouble."

"Not unless shit's changed in the last week. I ran a background check on everyone that works at McKay's as soon as she said she got a job there. There's nothing strange going on there."

Dean wasn't giving up that easily though, "You don't know. Demons could possess someone to get close to us."

Bobby scoffed. "Idjit. You really think we register on hell's radar? We're just a couple of hunters taking out the occasional monster or two."

Having forgotten to shut the curtains in her room, Kate was up first thing the next morning. She stumbled into the kitchen to make some coffee. If she was going to be up at sunrise, she was going to need some caffeine in the worst way. Rubbing her eyes, she headed over to the coffee maker. She almost dropped the coffee pot when a strange voice said behind her, "You're Karen's girl."

She eyed the dark haired stranger warily. "Her niece, Kate."

"That's what I meant." He smiled and she instantly recognized it as the same as Dean's.

"You're Dean's father." She stated. He shared some of the same features as Dean, but his face was haggard, and the similarity wasn't immediately apparent. His hard eyes were continually scanning the room. Kate had the feeling that there wasn't much he missed.

The man chuckled. "Quick little thing, aren't you? If you're making coffee, I could sure use a cup myself."

Kate nodded. "No problem. I always make a full pot in the morning anyways. The way those two go through it, I'm surprised they don't have holes in their stomach."

John sat down at the table. "Occupational hazard. Don't think I've ever met a hunter that drank less than five cups a day."

"Hunters, is that what you call yourselves? I suppose it fits." Kate pulled a couple of mugs down from the cabinet. "How do you take it?"

"Black."

Kate smiled. "Like father, like son I guess."

Kate was trying her best to give the three men privacy, but it was hard when they were all yelling at each other….plus she really wanted to know what was going on. Standing by the kitchen door, she stirred the bowl of eggs that had been ready to go in the pan twenty minutes ago.

"I don't need your permission!" John yelled. "It's the first solid lead I've had in twenty years and I'm following up on it!"

"Dad, I can come with you-"

John cut him off. "No Dean, I need to stay as low key as possible… Which also means I need to swap the Impala for your Jeep."

"Sure Dad," Dean said quietly.

"Are you sure about this John?" Bobby asked. "It could just be some wild goose chase like the last time."

"I'm sure," John's deep voice boomed out. "I can feel it in my bones. It's him, I know it."

"What do you need John?" Bobby asked.

Even from the kitchen Kate heard the sigh. "I've been hunting this son of a bitch long enough to know that it's not going to be easy. I'll check in once a week at least, but otherwise just the usual."

"Research. You want me to stay here and do research while you're tracking the thing that killed mom?" Dean's voice was hard. "I'm not a kid anymore Dad!"

"I know that. That's why I'm going to need you to go out on hunts while I'm doing this. I can't hunt and track him at the same time."

The silence that followed was almost palpable. Kate held her breath, certain that Bobby would object to Dean hunting by himself. From what she had been able to gather, most people hunted in teams and even that was dangerous. But instead, Bobby simply said, "Alright, that's the plan then. Come on, let's go see what Kate's whipped up in the kitchen. I'll tell ya John, the girl can cook."

Hurrying over to the stove, she dumped the eggs into the skillet. "Oh, should just be a few minutes," she said innocently as everyone came into the kitchen. She caught the grin on Dean's face and she turned back to the stove, certain that he knew she had been eavesdropping.

Risking another glance at him, she was surprised when he raised his finger and wiggled it back and forth, "Shame, shame," he mouthed.

Kate chuckled and turned her attention back to the eggs before they burned.

Kate stepped outside and walked over to where Dean was loading the gear that he had taken from his Jeep into the trunk of the Impala. "Holy crap!" she couldn't help but exclaim when she saw the weapons in the trunk. There was a menagerie of handguns, sawed off shotguns, knives, even something that looked like a samurai sword. "You always travel with all this?"

Dean shot her a grin. "Pretty much, yeah. You never know what you might end up needing."

She gazed into the trunk. "Well I guess flying from place to place is out."

"Thank Christ," Dean murmured.

Her eyes flew to check him out. Kate thought he looked decidedly uncomfortable. "I have to say, I love flying, looking down and seeing all the houses. They remind me of the little plastic houses that come with Monopoly." A light sheen of sweat broke out on Dean's brow. "And when you pass through the clouds, well its almost like you could step out on them." Dean swallowed hard. "But you know the best thing? The best thing is when you run into some turbulence." His skin turned a shade of green. "It's like being on a rollercoaster, only better, because you don't know when the drops are coming."

"Stop talking," Dean barked. "If people were supposed to fly, God would've given us wings." He grabbed a rag and wiped off his face.

Kate leaned against the quarter panel. You mean to tell me that you can go up against werewolves, but you're afraid to fly?"

"I'm not afraid," Dean insisted. "I just don't see the need to fly when you've got wheels like baby."

Kate's eyebrows shot up. "Did you hit your head? That sentence makes absolutely no sense."

"This," Dean shut the trunk and rubbed the glossy black paint lovingly. "Is baby."

"Figures," Kate scoffed. "Of course you'd call this car baby. Men and their vehicles," she said derisively. She stared off into the junk yard for a minute before turning back to him. "Can I ask you a question Dean?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Do vampires really burst into flame when they're touched by sunlight?" Dean burst out laughing. "What? Stop laughing at me!" Kate punched him in the arm.

"Ow! That hurt you know." Dean rubbed the spot. "No they don't burst in flames, although they do get a very nasty sunburn." When she opened her mouth to speak again, he interrupted her. "Before you ask, a wooden stake through the heart won't kill them either. You got to decapitate them."

"Huh, I wouldn't have thought that. What about silver and werewolves?"

"Now they got that one right. A silver bullet will take down one of those assholes no problem." Dean frowned. "Why all the sudden interest?"

Kate plucked at her shirt hem. "Just curious is all," she lied. She didn't want to tell him that since she'd heard them all talking this morning, all she'd been able to think about was that Dean would be out there with things that would do anything to stay alive. She didn't think that they'd hesitate to kill a hunter.

* * *

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	4. Chapter 4

The weathermen had predicted a heat wave and for once they were right. The temperature starting rising with the sun and by ten-thirty it had to be close to ninety. Dean, Bobby and Kate stayed inside, the shades drawn and with fans set up on every available surface and every corner. They did their best to circulate the heavy air, but it was still unbearable.

"Ugh!" Kate moaned. "I swear I've lost five pounds in sweat since this morning." She picked up a magazine and started fanning herself with it. "I kinda wish I was working tonight, at least they have air-conditioning." Suddenly she sat up. "Let's go swimming. We can go down to the pond."

Bobby shook his head. "I told Caleb I'd work the phones for him today, but you two go on ahead."

Kate looked at Dean with a pleading look. "Please? I'll pack a lunch." She said trying to tempt him.

"Why the hell not," Dean decided. "We're just sitting here puddling anyway."

Kate shrieked and jumped up. "Give me fifteen minutes and I'll be ready." She dashed out of the room.

"You'd think that girl had won the lottery she's so excited," Bobby said dryly. "Make sure you stay clear of any trouble with the locals, I remember what happened last time you went down to that pond. I don't want the sheriff coming out here again."

Dean snickered at the memory. "I was fifteen Bobby. Wasn't my fault they picked a fight they couldn't win." When Bobby just glared at him, Dean relented. "I'll take her down to the river instead, alright? No one knows about that place."

"Good, now why don't you go get changed. That girl's going to drive me crazy if she's got to wait for you."

* * *

"Where are we going?" Kate asked when Dean turned the wrong way out of the drive. "Pond's to the left."

"I know, I'm taking you someplace else. Sam and I used to go there when we were kids. Trust me, you'll love it." Twenty minutes later he pulled into a dirt road and followed it all the way to the end. "We've got to walk from here."

"You sure your leg can handle it?" she asked. "You just got that cast off. The doctor said to take it easy for at least a month."

"Yeah, it's alright. It's not very far at any rate." Dean grabbed the towels and cooler from the back. "Let's go."

"You're the boss. Lead the way."

"It's gorgeous!" Kate exclaimed when they stepped out of the woods. There was a wonderful grassy bank that sloped gently towards the water. Large oak trees and weeping willows provided scattered shade everywhere.

Tossing down her backpack, Kate ran to the edge of the water. The river was wide and clear, with rocks covering the bottom. She could see that it got deep quickly. She dipped her toes in to test out the water. "It feels great!" She called back to Dean.

When she didn't get an answer, she turned around. The cooler and towels were there but she couldn't see him anywhere. "Dean?" she called out. "Dean! This isn't funny. Where are you?"

Suddenly, she heard a loud whoop. Glancing up, she saw Dean about ten feet off the ground on an old wooden platform. She screamed as he jumped but he only swung through the air on the rope in his hands. When he got out over the middle of the river, he let go, plunging into the water. She laughed as he surfaced. "You scared the crap out of me!"

Dean quickly swam over close to the bank. "Are you coming in?"

"You bet!" Kate yanked her top off and pushed her cutoffs down her thighs. Stepping gingerly out into the river, she slowly picked her way out.

Dean sighed exasperatedly, "I'm going to be old by the time you get out here." When she didn't move any faster, Dean went to get her. Grabbing her by her waist, he tossed her over his shoulder.

"Dean! No! Stop!" She screamed.

Paying no attention, he carried her out until he felt the drop off under his feet. He swung her around and tossed her out into the deep water. She came up sputtering and there was no mistaking the look of sheer panic on her face. Dean quickly jumped in after her. "Hold on, I've got you," he said as he pulled her towards him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tightly. "Why didn't you tell me you don't know how to swim?" He began to swim back toward shore.

Kate pushed her hair back from her face and sniffled. "I know how to swim, I'm just not very good at it."

"Is this like how you 'know' how to drive a standard?" Dean asked.

Kate glared at him. "I drive that car just fine now. It just took me a few days is all." She wiped a few tears from her face and buried her face in his neck, embarrassed. "I just panic if I'm over my head for some reason. I always have, ever since I was a little kid."

"I'm sorry," Dean said, feeling truly contrite. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's alright," Kate looked up at him. "You didn't know, you were just fooling around." Suddenly Kate realized that Dean was no longer swimming, he was standing on the bottom and not only did she still have her arms around him, but at some point she had wrapped her legs around his waist as well. She couldn't help but notice how smooth his skin was under her palms, how easily he was supporting her weight. Kate felt her abdomen tighten and her breath caught in her throat.

"Sorry," she said as she unclasped her legs and let herself slide down his body. When she let go of his neck, she couldn't help but run her hands down his well muscled chest before dropping them into the water. Butterflies filled her stomach and she desperately wanted to reach up and kiss him.

Kate stepped back. "I um, I think I'm going to go dry off for a bit, get a little color." She stammered.

Dean cleared his throat. "Sure. I'll be out in just a minute."

* * *

Dean spread out his towel and flopped down on it. He peeked at her out of the corner of his sunglasses. The water still hadn't dried completely off her skin, and he could see the little beads of moisture that had formed on her skin. A little pool of water sat in her navel. Dean had the urge to lean over and suck it out. His groin tightened and he felt himself begin to grow hard.

Shifting over to his stomach to disguise it, he asked her, "So what were your plans before you ended up coming here?"

Kate propped herself up on her elbows to look at him. "Same as every kid that just graduated high school I think. Have some fun, hang out with my friends, drink some beers."

"Not college?" Dean asked surprised.

Kate turned over on her blanket. "I got in, but I didn't end up getting enough financial aid and Mom couldn't afford it, so…" She shrugged her shoulders. "I figured I'd go to community college for a while and see if I managed to qualify next year."

"What did you want to study?"

Kate laughed, "I hadn't really figured that out yet. I've always kinda wanted to be a vet, but I don't know… it's a lot of school."

Dean heard what she wasn't saying. It was a lot of money. "You should go for it," he said. "I think you're resourceful enough to find a way."

"Yeah, maybe. What about you? Did you ever dream about being anything other than a hunter when you were growing up?"

Dean thought about it for a minute and realized he'd never really let himself consider any other options. "I guess I always knew that this is what I'd do."

"But if you didn't? If there were no monsters that go bump in the night?"

"I'd work on cars," he heard himself say. It surprised him how fast the answer had come, how he hadn't had to think about it at all.

"I can see you doing that. The 'Cuda already looks a thousand times better than it did."

Dean smiled. "Just wait till you see it once it's got a fresh coat of paint. It won't even look like it's the same car."

"You're a handy guy to have around Dean. Oh, speaking of handy…" She fished into her bag. "Can you put this on my back? I got everywhere else but I'm not that bendable." She held up a tube of sunscreen.

"Sure," Dean said. Taking the tube from her, he squeezed some out.

"Make sure you get under my straps," she said closing her eyes.

Dean groaned silently as he began to rub the slick liquid over her skin. He had a feeling he'd be spending a lot of time lying on his stomach today.

* * *

Dean headed up the stairs, hissing as his shirt shifted. The well broken in cotton had become as abrasive as sandpaper on his sensitive skin.

He had just lowered himself down to the bed when he heard a knock. "Dean?" Kate called softly. "Can I come in?"

"No," he said, his voice muffled by the pillow.

Kate pushed open the door anyway. "I told you to use sunscreen, but you said no. 'I only tan' was what I believe your exact words were." She shut the door behind her and came over to stand above him. Dean heard her hiss sympathetically. "That's a bad one," she murmured.

"If you only came in here to point out the obvious, you can go. I'm well aware of how bad it is," he snapped at her.

"Don't be grumpy," Kate snapped at him. "I only came here to help." Her hand appeared in front of his face with a few brown pills in it. "Take these."

Dean hesitated for only the briefest of moments. "What is it?"

"Don't worry, it's just some ibuprofen."

"Motrin? You're secret is Motrin?" he scoffed.

"Part of it is. You'll be surprised, it'll really help. It takes the heat right out." She stood there and watched as Dean shifted onto his side and tossed back the pills. "Good now roll back over." Kate removed a bottle of what looked like green goo from her pocket.

Resigned to whatever she had in store for him, Dean turned back over and laid down on his stomach. The bed dipped slightly when she settled herself onto it. "It might feel a little cold at first," she warned.

Dean just about jumped up when the first few drops hit his skin. "Son of a bitch!" he swore. But suddenly the constant burning sensation he'd been experiencing since the sunburn bloomed changed to more of an unpleasant tingle. "Huh."

Kate began to spread the jelly over the bright red skin. "Agh…" Dean moaned. "That stuff is great. What the hell is it?"

"Good old fashioned aloe and some well chosen chemicals with impossibly long names."

Dean's eyes closed in ecstasy as she worked it over his back. She was gentle, making sure she didn't aggravate the irritated skin any further. "Roll over," she commanded.

"That's alright," Dean muttered. "My back's the worst."

"Don't be stupid," Kate scolded him. "Turn over."

Dean reluctantly switched to his back. To his surprise, the cotton sheets didn't feel like sandpaper, the heat from his skin didn't burn through him.

Kate placed a couple of pumps of the green goop in her hand and began to spread it on his chest and arms.

"How does that feel?" Kate asked softly. "Is the heat gone?"

"Uh huh," Dean managed. And it was, but it had shifted to his groin. Baseball, monsters he'd hunted, his high school teachers, he thought of anyone and everything that might help him keep the erection that was threatening to rise up down.

Her hands slowly slid over his chest muscles, up to his neck. And then they slid down to his abdomen. His breath caught in his throat as her thumbs traced the outline of hair that went from his navel to his groin. Over and over she followed the same path, rubbing the gel into his skin until Dean thought he was going to go out of his mind.

Kate pulled back. "I think that should do it. Here," she placed the bottle on Dean's bedside table. "In case you need to use some more tonight."

"Thanks Kate," Dean grunted.

"Anytime." She quickly she stepped from his room and closed the door behind her. She felt like it was her body on fire and it wasn't just the heat from the air causing it either. Kate threw herself down on her bed and moaned. Touching Dean had been torture, but in a really marvelous way. As she changed out of her clothes and into the tank top that she typically wore to bed, she relived the scene in his room.

Kate thought about how his muscles would tighten minutely under her hands, allowing her to truly appreciate the strength in them, how a slight moan escaped him as she worked the gel into a particularly sensitive spot.

She pressed her legs together tightly to quell the throbbing between them, but that only seemed to make it worse. She sighed and skimmed her palms down her body, wishing that they were Dean's. Hesitating only a moment, she slid her hand into her panties and began to rub herself gently. She dreamed that she could feel his mouth on her skin, his hands caressing.

Kate's breath came faster as she thought about how it had felt when she had her legs wrapped around him earlier. She imagined that they had both been naked, that he had sighed her name out as she lowered her mouth to his. She envisioned how his face would look as she took him inside of her.

Turning her head into the pillow, Kate let out a light cry as she began to climax, his name chanting though her mind.

* * *

Next time, she'd know better than to tell them that she'd pull a double on only a few hours of sleep. Thank goodness they'd given her first cut at least.

When the phone rang around nine and Jack McKay asked her to come in at noon, it seemed like a good idea to get out of the house. She was feeling really awkward around Dean this morning.

Anytime she saw him, she felt like she was staring at him, but when she looked away, it felt like it was obvious she was avoiding looking at him. The typical easy banter that they enjoyed was stilted, and Kate was feeling paranoid that Dean had known what she had done, and who she had been thinking of, when she'd returned to her room last night.

Pulling up in front of Bobby's house she took a deep breath. "You just walk in there like there's nothing to it," she said to herself. "He doesn't know what you're thinking, he can't read minds." Squaring her shoulders she pushed the car door open with a loud creak.

"Hello!" Kate called out as she stepped through the front door. "Guys? I'm home early!"

No voices answered her call and Kate realized that the house was too quiet. It was only a little after eleven and the lights were still on. In the evening there was always some sort of noise from whatever sport Bobby had showing on the television and he and Dean would inevitably get into some sort of good natured argument about what player did what and who had the best stats.

Setting aside her purse, she headed into the kitchen to see if they left a note. There was nothing on the table or fridge and Kate was about to turn around to head upstairs when she saw the back light on. Peeking though the curtains over the sink, she saw Dean loading some things into the trunk of his car.

"Hey, where's Bobby?" The screen door slammed behind her.

Dean looked up from what he was doing. "He's out bowling with a few friends. You got out early."

She stepped down the stairs as he tossed a duffel into the trunk. "Yeah, I did. What are you doing? You going somewhere?" The thought filled her with dread, she knew that the only reason he'd be leaving was because he was going on a hunt.

"Yeah," Dean said not quite meeting her eyes. "There's a case that popped up a few hours ago out in Arizona."

"Are you going alone?" she asked quietly.

"There's a friend of Bobby's down that way." He slammed the lid of the trunk down. "Another hunter."

"You didn't answer my question. Are you meeting up with him or going by yourself?"

Dean looked over at her and smiled. "Don't worry, I've got his number if I need backup. I'll be back in a few days." He moved around to the driver's side.

"Dean, wait," hurrying around the car, she threw her arms around him. "Be careful," she whispered.

Dean's hands splayed across her back and pulled her closer. "I will be. Don't worry so much, this is what I do."

Kate laughed lightly. "Haven't you figured out by now that I'm just a natural worrier? Besides, my driver's side door creaks anytime I open it and I just want to make sure that you're going to be around to fix it for me." Giving him a light kiss on the cheek, she stepped back.

"I'll put it on my list of crap that you want done around here." Dean gave her a quick smile and slid into the driver's seat.

Kate waved as Dean pulled around into the driveway. She waited to go in until she couldn't see the red glow from his taillights anymore.

* * *

**Thanks for everyone who is reviewing, I really appreciate it. If you're not, what's stopping you? I want to know what you think! Also don't forget to click follow/favorite and be notified whenever a new chapter is posted, that way you won't miss a thing!  
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	5. Chapter 5

Dean was miserable. He probably should have pulled in for the night a state or two back, but he just wanted to get home. The 'simple job' had gone to hell and he'd been gone for over a week. What he had thought was just one ghost had turned into a cluster of vengeful spirits. Not only had he had to call in reinforcements, but he'd gotten his ass handed to him in the mean time.

His body was bruised and sore everywhere. Sitting in the car for hours on end was its very own special type of agony. He stretched, trying to find a more comfortable position.

Driving through town, he suddenly turned off. McKay's was just down the road and it was Saturday night. Even though he was tired, going home to Bobby's just wouldn't be the same if she wasn't there. He didn't see her car, but the lot was packed. Pulling the Impala in, he got out and stretched.

Dean pushed open the door and headed for the bar, squinting through the smoke filled air until he saw her. She looked good. Somehow she always managed to be as sexy as you could image without ever crossing that line into trashy. Tonight she had on a tank covered by an old leather vest and a pair of dark jeans. Cowboy boots completed the outfit. Her hair was piled on top of her head in a messy knot. Stray hairs clung to her neck, the black of her hair contrasting against the paleness of her skin.

A seat opened up at the bar and Dean slid into it, beating out an angry looking guy. The bartender came over to take his order.

Remembering the name of the coworker that had taken Kate out before, Dean asked, "Mike, right?" When the guy nodded, Dean continued. "I'll take a Jameson, make it a double. Oh, and next time Kate puts in an order, tell her someone's here to see her."

Mike glared at him. "She know you?"

Dean smiled. "She does."

Placing a glass of whiskey in front of Dean, Mike said, "She's real busy tonight friend. Don't know if she'll be able to come see you."

Dean tossed back the drink. "I can wait, though I better switch to beer then. How 'bout a PBR?" He passed the guy a card. "I'll start a tab."

Three minutes later, he felt arms sneak around his neck and a kiss on his cheek. "Where you been?"

Dean swiveled around in his chair. "Pauline? How are you?" Sneaking a peak down the bar, he saw Mike talking to Kate and point his way. She turned her head to look and instantly a smile lit up her face, but her eyes drew together as she took in the curvy blond that had draped herself practically across his lap. Rolling his eyes at Kate, he tried to extradite himself from Pauline's grip. He stifled a grin when he saw Kate chuckle.

"I'm good baby, I haven't seen you in a long time. I thought you said you'd call." Pauline pouted her bright pink lips.

Dean managed to yank her arms off of him. "I told you I travel a lot," Dean said lamely. The truth was, he hadn't thought of her since he'd snuck out of her house at four in the morning six months ago.

"How about you buy me a drink and I'll forgive you," Pauline said sweetly, slurring her words slightly. .

"Pauline!" Kate exclaimed from behind the blonde. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

"Why?" Pauline asked.

Kate leaned in surreptitiously. "You see that guy over there? He was asking me about you earlier. I think you should go talk to him."

Pauline squinted across the room to the man Kate was pointing to. Smiling at Dean, she tossed her hair. "Seems like I have someone that I have to go meet."

Dean watched her totter away on four inch heels. "That guy didn't really ask about her did he?"

Kate laughed, "Nope but they're both so blitzed that it's the perfect fit." She threw her arms around him. "I'm so glad you're back safe," she said just loud enough so that only he could hear. "I was worrying the whole time you were gone, you should have called," she chastised him.

Dean breathed in her scent. She was wearing a perfume that he'd noticed before. It was soft and slightly musky, sexy as hell and understated at the same time, just like her. "I told you I'd be back." Dean pulled back to take a look at her. "I still have to fix that door of yours."

Kate laughed. "Yeah you do. I've got to get back to work, but if you're around at the end of my shift maybe you can give me a ride home."

Dean frowned. "What'd you do to the car?"

Kate punched him lightly on his shoulder. "Why does it have to be that I've done something? I got a flat is all. Bobby gave me a ride but I told him I'd catch a lift home with someone else."

"I'll find you if I head out," Dean said. Kate flashed him a smile and disappeared into the crowd.

Dean looked across the room and laughed. It seemed that Pauline and the guy Kate had steered her to were hitting it off. Turning back around to the bar, Dean began to nurse his beer.

* * *

"Thanks Dean," Kate said as Dean opened up the car door for her. She slid into the seat. "I appreciate you sticking around to give me a ride."

"No problem," Dean said. He wouldn't have had any other way. He couldn't help but notice the way Mike tended to watch her as she moved around the room. No way in hell was he going to let Mike give her a ride home tonight. "How come they let you out early?"

"I offered to take first cut. With how much money they were making tonight, the other girls were more than happy to stay." Kate began pulling pins out of her hair. She sighed with pleasure as the thick bundle of hair tumbled down her back.

Dean forced his eyes back to the road. "You didn't want to stay?" He sensed her shift to look at him.

"No, I wanted to go home." She reached out and touched a slight bruise on the back of his hand. "How'd that happen?"

His skin was burning where her fingertips touched it. "I don't even remember," he said truthfully. He looked over and his eyes locked with hers. The air in the car thickened with tension.

Kate slid across the seat closer to him. She reached down and clicked on the radio, turning the dial until she found some soft rock. "There, that's better. I'm usually so pumped up from work it takes me hours to get to sleep. Music helps."

"I know how that is," Dean laughed. "Sometimes I feel like I'm dead on my feet when I get done with a hunt, but no matter what, I can't crash out."

Her light laughter filled the car. "Exactly." She turned up the volume slightly and then instead of moving back, she simply laid her head against the seat back. "Dean? I really am glad you're home." Kate stretched and kissed his cheek lightly.

Dean placed his arm around her and pulled her over so that her head was resting on his shoulder. His lips brushed her hairline. "So am I."

They rode the rest of the way back to the house with only the music filling the air. Dean couldn't remember ever quite feeling like this about a woman before. Granted, most of his relationships lasted about eight hours, with the occasional weekend thrown in here or there, but the extent of how and what he was feeling surprised him. He wanted to hear what she had to say and see her laugh. He wanted to protect her from anything and everything. When Kate touched him, he felt a mix of arousal and contentment.

Dean admitted to himself that the reason he didn't stop for the night and just drive home tomorrow was because he had wanted to see her, he hadn't even wanted to wait another eight hours. He'd taken the way through town which would bring him past McKay's even though the next exit off the highway would have been a more direct route to Bobby's. He stayed to give her a ride because he hated the thought that the bartender might try to make a move on her. He didn't want anyone kissing her but him.

Dean pulled the car around back and cut the engine. Without saying a word, the both got out of the car and headed inside. They picked their way through the dark house and slowly climbed the steps to the second floor. "Kate wait," Dean said softly.

She turned around on the top step so she could see him. "What?"

Reaching up, Dean cupped the back of her head and pressed his lips gently to hers. He heard her soft gasp of surprise, and then felt her lips open slightly. Her arms slid around his back, holding him tight.

Dean groaned as his tongue traced the contours of her mouth. Kissing her felt like falling, his stomach clenched and his heart raced. All he could think was that she tasted of mint and honey. He reveled in how soft her lips were, how warm her mouth was.

Dean shifted their bodies slightly and stepped up onto the landing next to her. He pushed her back gently, until she was up against the hallway wall. Dean pressed his body into hers, his hardness into her softness. Dean's hands skimmed down her back to cup her ass. He pulled her closer, his erection pressing insistently into her stomach. Kate arched against him in response, a sigh on her lips.

She pulled his shirt up to slide her hands underneath. He could feel her fingers gripping into his waist. He tore his mouth from hers only to nibble on her ear. Dean leaned even more of his weight into her.

Suddenly he pulled back. He had been about to take her against the wall in the hall of Bobby's house. He had completely forgotten where the hell he was.

As if reading his thoughts Kate said, "Bobby's got a summer cold, so between the cold medicine and the bourbon, he wouldn't wake up to a bomb." She took his hand in hers. "Come on, your room's closer." She pushed open the door to Dean's room and stepped inside.

He shut the door softly and then pulled her back, so that her back was pressed against his front. Sweeping her hair aside, he pressed his lips against the nape of her neck. His hands, which had been gripping her hips, skimmed her body and pushed the soft leather of her vest off her shoulders. When his tongue traced the line of her shoulder, Kate's head fell back against his shoulder.

When he pulled the thin tank top over her head, she turned to face him. Impatiently, she pulled her mouth back to hers, her teeth scraping his lower lip gently.

With a growl Dean picked her up and tossed her across the bed. Kate laughed as she propped herself up on her elbows. "You can do it," she told Dean as he started to try to pull her cowboy boots off. With a grunt he managed to rip off the first one. "Just one more," Kate waved her still clad foot at him.

"Did you put these things on with superglue?" Dean grunted. Kate grabbed hold of the edge of the bed to keep from getting yanked right onto the floor. With a plop, her foot finally sprang loose. "There," Dean huffed. Kicking off his own boots, he tossed his leather coat into the corner and then pulled off his t-shirt. He looked down at Kate waiting for him and paused.

There was a full moon and the moonlight was streaming through his open bedroom windows. Kate's skin looked like alabaster, her hair as dark as true blackness. She was beautiful. And she was also Bobby's niece. Dean began to wonder if he wasn't crossing some line by doing this.

"Stop thinking Dean," Kate said from the bed. She sat up and scooted so she was sitting on the edge. Her mouth pressed against the six pack that Dean was so very proud of. "I want you, that should be enough."

She ran her hand down his chest, eliciting a shudder from him. Her mouth was hot and wet against his skin. Dean buried his hands in her hair, collecting it into a bunch as the back of her head. "Sweet Jesus," he muttered as her tongue twirled around a particularly sensitive spot right next to his hip bone. When her hands nimbly undid the buckle on his belt and pulled the leather through the loops, he knew he was lost. There would be no turning back now.

When Kate would have undone the fastenings to his jeans, Dean pushed her back onto the bed. He wanted to make it last and getting naked now would be a surefire way to speed things along. She stretched out across the old quilt, a smile playing on her lips. "Whatcha waiting for?"

He lowered himself on top of her, his mouth brushing her collarbone. Kate rolled herself on top of him, and sat up. She reached back and undid the clasp of her bra, the material falling slowly down. Dean stared up at her for a moment. "You are so beautiful," he whispered. Reaching up, he pulled one of her breasts into his mouth. His tongue swirled around the beaded nipple as his hand massaged the soft flesh.

When Dean moved to give the other breast the same attention, Kate clasped his head in her hands. "That feels so good," she murmured.

Grabbing her waist, he flipped over, pulling her back underneath him. He pressed his mouth to her stomach, smiling as she gasped and arched against him. "You like that, don't you?" he growled. Not waiting for an answer, Dean deftly undid the fastenings on her jeans. He slowly opened up the flaps, kissing the exposed as it became visible. Kate whimpered and writhed beneath him.

His patience at an end, Dean pulled back. He gripped the waistband of her jeans and pulled them down her legs along with her panties. Seeing her laying there naked, somehow his cock managed to get even harder. Dean quickly pulled off his own pants and tossed them aside.

When he laid back down on the bed, Kate's mouth met his greedily. Dean shuddered when her fingers closed gently around his shaft. Her fingers began stroking, exploring his cock until he was sure he was going out of his mind. "Wait," he commanded, closing his hand over hers.

Kate's breath was hot in his hear, "Did I do something wrong?" she asked hesitantly.

Dean chuckled, "The opposite. If you keep that up, it's going to be over before it begins." He felt her smile against his neck. He began running his tongue over her soft skin as he reached up to the notch between her legs, his fingers spreading her folds gently.

Kate cried out softly, her fingernails digging into his shoulders, when he began to probe her warmth. "You're so wet," he growled. "You feel like silk." Suddenly Dean moved down her body, pushing her legs farther apart.

He paused for a second and then replaced his hand with his mouth. He ran his tongue the length of her and then began to suck and lick. Kate jerked against him, a cry escaping from her. He felt her hands gripping at his head, pulling him even closer. When he felt her body begin to contract, he applied even more pressure to the sensitive bump. Her body bucked wildly as the climax ripped through her.

Kate panted heavily as Dean pulled himself back up the bed. Reaching into his bedside table, he fumbled around until he found the little packet. Kate's hands closed over his. "Let me."

Dean swore softly as she slid the latex down his shaft. He felt like he was going to explode any minute. As soon as she was done, he claimed her mouth again as he positioned himself to enter her. Just as he trust forward, Dean pulled back so he could watch her face.

Dean saw her eyes widen and heard the quick hiss. He buried his head in her neck as he fought for control, to give her some time to adjust. His whole body shook with the effort that it cost him. He felt her body clench around him and groaned. Slowly, he began to move, withdrawing and plunging back into her.

Kate's legs wrapped around him, her hands urged him on. When her body began to tighten again, she reached up, grabbing at the pillow under her head. Dean covered it with his own. He threaded his fingers with hers and followed her over the cliff.

* * *

Dean tucked her up against his side. His body felt completely drained, it was hard to move. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked gently.

"What?" she asked. Dean raised his eyebrows and Kate sighed. "It's not exactly a turn on is it? 'Hey Dean, by the way, I'm a virgin.' Talk about a mood killer." She paused for a second. "I was afraid you'd say no."

Dean thought about it for a second. "I'm not sure that I could have walked away." He pressed a kiss to her temple. "But I would have tried to be gentler."

Kate reached up and gave him a kiss. "You were plenty gentle." Sighing, she laid her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

As Kate drifted off to sleep, Dean thought about things. Since Kate had shown up, it had been the most normal time he'd experienced since his mom died. Even though he and Bobby filled their days with monsters, she was there talking about town gossip or trying to convince Bobby that he needed to buy a new couch. She was the one that shut off the television and broke out the board games at night. It was all so normal when she was around, she made him forget about the things that were out there. And he liked it, he really, really liked it.

* * *

**Alright, I'm definitely going to need to hear what you guys thought of this one. Hot or not? Too graphic? Not graphic enough? Just right? I can't wait to read what you guys think about this one.  
**

**I hope everyone had a great holiday, and Happy New Year to you all! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Hope everyone's had a great couple of days. I originally didn't think I'd be able to post this chapter before new year's but here it is for you. I have to say, I'm a little disappointed. I give you guys smut and only one review :( I don't know what I have to do to get you guys to review! **

**On the positive side, the story had steadily been gaining more followers, which is exciting. So hello to all you new people. Anyways, enjoy the chapter and then write a few lines in the little box at the bottom and hit submit. It's quite painless, I assure you. **

* * *

Kate was gone when Dean opened his eyes the next morning. He knew where she was though, he could smell the bacon frying. His stomach growled hungrily in response to the smell. Dean tossed on some clothes and stepped out into the hall.

"Thought this would get you up," she said as he stepped through the door.

Dean grabbed a piece of bacon and popped it in his mouth. "How'd you know it was me?"

Kate laughed. "Bobby doesn't sound like an elephant coming down the stairs, only you do."

Dean smiled down at her. She had her hair up again, like she did last night. "You should wear your hair like that more often," he said.

"Why? You like it?"

Dean nodded. "Shows off your sexy neck." He pressed his lips against the skin, right above her shoulder. "I like your neck."

The sound of Bobby clearing his throat from the doorway had Dean stepping back guiltily. "Hey Bobby, how you feeling?"

Bobby pressed his lips together. "Sick. I got something for you to take a look at."

Dean wiped his sweaty palms on his pants. He knew that Bobby would find out sooner or later what was going on with him and Kate, he had just hoped that it'd be later.

Kate gave him a sympathetic smile as he moved away. "Don't be too long. As soon as this is done, breakfast is going to be ready."

Dean followed Bobby into the study. "Close the door," the older man said.

For the first time since Kate had found out what they did in here, Dean slid the pocket doors shut. He had the strangest feeling of being called to the principal's office. Taking a deep breath he turned around to face the man that was like a second father to him.

Bobby stood in front of his desk, arms crossed, glaring at Dean. "You want to explain that?"

"Bobby, I-" Dean started to say but he was interrupted.

"You know she's my niece right? She's my responsibility while she's here. I let it slide when you told her about what we do, because hell, sooner or later she probably would have figured it out somehow. But Jesus, Dean! She's only eighteen."

"I know Bobby. I know how old she is, I know she's your niece." Dean rubbed a hand over his face. This was not going the way he'd hoped.

"So what the hell are you doing?" Bobby snapped.

"I like her!" Dean retorted. "She's…. different." He sat down heavily in one of the chairs. "Look Bobby, I get it, alright? I get that you're just looking out for her. But there's something about her that I just can't shake. I'm not looking for a quick roll in the hay here."

Bobby stared at Dean for a moment before settling himself in behind the desk. "Jacob called, he needs help identifying something. Grab a book and get to work." Dean looked longingly towards the door, causing Bobby to chuckle. "Don't worry, Kate will let us know when the food's ready. She won't let you starve."

Dean wondered what had caused Bobby's sudden mood swing, but not one to look a gift horse in its mouth, Dean asked, "So what did Jacob say?"

* * *

Kate smoothed the fabric over the line before securing it with a pin. She was glad that she had managed to get the small bloodstain out. Her cheeks reddened as she wondered if Dean had seen it this morning. So what if he did, she decided after a moment. He knew, and it wasn't anything to be ashamed of. She was eighteen, not early to lose her virginity but it wasn't like she was thirty either.

Hearing the screen door bang, Kate looked over her shoulder to see who it was. She smiled as she saw Dean jump lightly over the stairs. "Hey, you two get whatever it was done?"

"I think so, long as this guy got his facts right. Those mine?" Dean asked.

Kate reached down to grab one of the pillowcases. "Yeah, they'll smell nice after being in the sun all day."

Dean turned her to face him and gave her a gentle kiss. "I love that you know shit like that." He kissed her again, a little harder this time.

Kate pushed against him when he would have come back for a third kiss. "What did Bobby say? Was he angry?"

Drawing his eyebrows together, Dean shrugged. "I'm not sure. He seemed pissed at first but then just let it go." He pulled her back towards him. "Maybe he realized that we're both adults," he whispered as he began to nibble on her ear. Kate's legs began to go weak and she twisted her arms around his neck.

Suddenly he stepped back. "Go grab your suit, I want to go swimming."

"I have more laundry in the washer." Kate protested halfheartedly.

Dean grabbed the now empty basket that was at her feet. "It'll still be there when we get back. Come on," he pleaded. "I'll even let you make some lunch to bring with us."

Kate laughed. "Yeah, I bet you will."

* * *

Dean moved to the back of the Impala. "What are you doing?" Kate asked. "I've got the cooler right here."

She felt her heart flutter when Dean gave her a crooked smile. "I got you a surprise."

"You did?" She moved forward to see, but Dean lowered the trunk again.

"No peaking. Put that stuff down."

Kate bent down to put her bag and the cooler on the ground. As soon as she straightened back up, Dean tossed her a small package. Turning it over in her hands to look at the front, she began to laugh. "You got me arm floaties?"

Dean nodded and then theatrically pulled out a long purple object. "I also got you a noodle, guaranteed to keep you afloat." He passed her the Styrofoam like object. "And last but not least…" He removed a life jacket from the trunk. Walking over he held it out so she could see it. "The lady said that this would be the easiest one to swim in. It's really thin."

Kate took the jacket from him and looked it over. "You got me all this?"

Dean shrugged, "I saw a pool store and stopped in. I thought that maybe you might want to practice swimming. I just wanted you to feel safe if you did."

Kate jumped up, grabbing his neck and wrapping her legs around his waist. She felt her stomach tighten deliciously as Dean's hands cupped her ass as he supported her weight. "I love it. I think it's the best present ever." Her lips crashed down to hers and she delighted in the fact that his kiss was just as hungry as hers was.

"We could just head back to the house," Dean suggested. "We don't have to go swimming."

Kate unwrapped her legs from around him and slid to the ground. "Oh no, you've gotten me these things and now I'm going to try them out." She collected her bag and all of the presents. "You got the cooler," she called back over her shoulder.

* * *

"I got you," Dean reassured her. "I won't let you go."

Kate took a deep breath and stepped off the drop. Instantly the panic began to set in, but then she felt Dean's body next to hers, his strong hand grasping her arm. "You're alright. There you go. Just move your legs back and forth slowly."

She knew she wouldn't sink with the life jacket on, but Kate couldn't stop herself from griping Dean's arm as he began to move away from her to give her some room to move. She began to kick like he told her but stopped when it caused her to tilt backwards. "Ahh!" She cried out when the back of her head it the water.

Quickly he moved back in towards her. "It's okay. You just kicked too hard is all. When you're treading water you want to make big kicks, not little ones." He took one of her hands from his shoulder and placed it on his hip. "You feel the rhythm there?"

Kate shut her eyes and tried to figure out how fast he was moving his legs. After a minute she opened her eyes back up. "Alright, I think I've got it."

Dean nodded and moved back slightly. "There you go, now use your hand to balance yourself. It'll help keep you upright. Good." Dean smiled at her. Kate stretched out the arm that wasn't still gripping Dean's wrist and began to wave it back and forth in the water. Instantly she felt her body straighten out.

"I'm doing it!" Kate cried out. "I can't believe I'm actually treading water."

"You are." Dean said indulgently. "You want to try it with both hands?"

The thought of him letting go terrified her. "No!" She tried to turn to face him but ended up going face first into the water. She lifted her head from the water sputtering, her hair blocking her vision. Kate kicked, trying to right herself but only succeeded in driving herself forward. Panicked, she flailed her arms, trying to keep her face out of the water.

"Hey, hey," Dean called out. "Easy." Kate felt him grab hold of the life jacket and pull her towards him. He turned her over onto her back and smoothed her hair out of her face. "Maybe we should just try floating first," he joked as he helped her get vertical again. "You alright?"

Kate gripped his shoulders and took a few shaky breaths. Embarrassment flowed through her. She'd been doing so well and then bam! Instead of just saying no, she completely panicked. She searched his face for any signs of disappointment but she only saw concern.

"I'm alright." Kate reached over and touched a large red spot on his face. "Did I hit you?" she asked guiltily.

"It's alright, you hit like a girl." Dean bent his head down and gave her a quick kiss. "You want to try again?"

Kate bit her lip. The whole incident had been terrifying, but the reason that it happened was because she had overreacted. If she didn't learn how to control it, she'd never be able to swim. "Alright," she said finally. "One more time." When Dean would have moved away she added, "Just don't even talk about letting go."

"Cross my heart," Dean promised. "You ready?"

Kate took a moment to try to relax and then nodded. "That's my girl," Dean said approvingly. Kate felt her stomach flutter at the praise and she smiled back at him she began to kick her legs slowly back and forth.

* * *

Dean chuckled as Kate collapsed on the towel. "Who knew swimming could be so tiring?" Her body felt like it was the consistency of jello.

"Here," he pulled a beer out of the cooler and passed it to her. "This will help."

She looked at it. "Am I supposed to gnaw the cap off this?"

Dean grabbed the bottle from her and popped off the top. "You're a real pain in the ass, you know that?"

Kate took a long swallow and sighed contently. "Yeah Dean, I'm real high maintenance. I could always see if Pauline is available…" Kate gave a small shriek as Dean tossed the wet life jacket at her. She rolled over to her side and propped her head in her hand so that she could look at him as he started to unpack lunch.

Last night it had been too dark, she hadn't seen the bruises that decorated his body, but today, in the sunlight, they were all very visible. Most were small, no more than an inch or two in diameter, but he had a few large ones across his back.

Her stomach clenched painfully as she took in the number of injuries that he had. He didn't seem like they were bothering him too much though. Kate wondered if it was because they were really just superficial or if he was just so used to it.

"What is this?" Dean asked as he peeked in the wrapping of one of the sandwiches.

She pushed herself up to her knees to see. "That is mine, you won't like that," Kate said taking the sandwich from him.

Dean pouted. "How do you know? Maybe I'd like it."

"Not likely," Kate laughed. "It's got tomatoes, sprouts, mozzarella, and absolutely no meat what so ever."

"Ugh," Dean groaned. "How can you make a sandwich without any meat? It's what the whole sandwich is built around."

Kate rolled her eyes. "Well some of us don't have a metabolism that burns off anything. I must have put on five pounds in the last month. A veggie sandwich every so often helps me keep my jeans from busting open."

Dean's eyes skimmed down her body and Kate felt her heart begin to race. "I think you look pretty good, but I can show you a secret or two. I know a couple other ways of keeping fit," he said suggestively.

Kate tossed the sandwich back in the cooler and slammed the lid. "Is it something that I'm going to like?"

Dean pushed her down onto the blanket. "I can guarantee that you'll be crying out for more."

Kate smiled. "I'm going to hold you to it."

* * *

"Babe, you look fine," Dean said exasperatedly. "The whole thing is going to be over with before we even get there if you keep this up." Not that either he or Bobby would necessarily mind if that was the case. But he knew she wouldn't be happy if she missed out on the festivities.

Once Kate found out that there was a parade downtown and then after there was a social at the commons for the fourth of July, she insisted that they were all going. Dean had relented fairly quickly, he wanted to keep her happy, but Bobby had needed a bit more persuasion.

Kate pushed another pin in her hair. "It's just so humid, it's just flying everywhere." She grunted with disgust as she looked in the mirror.

In order to stop her from pulling out all the pins and starting over, Dean spun her around and gave her a big kiss. "I happen to like it a little messy. Makes me think of how you look when you're in bed." He kissed her again. "And I'm not just talking about when you're sleeping." He smiled when she blushed slightly. He smacked her ass lightly. "Come on before Bobby breaks into your potato salad."

Kate frowned. "He better not if he knows what's good for him." She rushed down the stairs to make sure the food was still intact.

Dean walked into the kitchen as Kate was checking that he had loaded everything into the cooler. "Can you get some paper plates and bowls out of the cabinet?" she asked.

As he started pulling out the paper goods the kitchen phone began to ring. "Just leave it," he said, but Kate was already picking up the receiver.

"Oh, hi Mom!" she said happily. "Happy fourth of July to you too. What are you doing today?... I'm dragging these guys to a parade, we were just about to leave…. You did? That's great….. Yeah Mom, we can talk about it. I'll give you a call later if it's not too late when we get in… Oh, okay, let me just grab a pen….. Uh huh, I got it… Love you too Mom."

"How is she?" Dean asked.

"She's good, she's really good." Kate said.

Dean scowled as she began to fuss with her clothes. She always did that when she was avoiding something. "What is it?"

Kate sighed and turned to look at him. "She found a job and an apartment. She said I could come down as early as next week."

Dean felt his heart drop at the thought of her leaving. "Are you going to go?" he asked quietly.

Kate shrugged. "I don't think I have much of a choice. What can I do?" She turned and looked out the window. Dean watched as she wiped her face quickly. "We'll talk about it later," she said. "I have a feeling if we don't get going, it'll take more than the just the threat of no more meatloaf to get Bobby to come."

After the parade, Dean and Bobby walked back to the truck to get the coolers while Kate found a spot for them to eat. "Is Kate alright?" Bobby asked. "She's awfully quiet today. Did you two have a fight or something?"

Dean shook his head. "Her mom called this morning. She found a job and a place to live."

"Well that's great," Bobby said. "Why she so down about it?"

Dean hefted the large cooler out of the bed of the pickup. "Her mom said that Kate could move down there as soon as next week." He hated saying it, it made the fact that she could be gone in a few days feel more real.

Bobby stood there, a shocked expression on his face. Dean wondered if that was how he looked when Kate first told him. "Oh," the gruff older man finally choked out.

"Yeah," Dean said glumly.

Bobby grabbed the smaller drink cooler and the two of them started back. They made their way silently through the crowd, each lost in their own thoughts. It wasn't until Bobby spotted Kate waving that either one of them spoke. "There she is, over there."

"Is this okay?" Kate asked. "I thought it'd be nice to hear the band but I didn't want to get too close to the speakers."

Dean set down the heavy cooler and lowered himself onto the quilt Kate had spread out. "Fine with me." He took the beer Bobby held out to him.

Kate sighed and took the beer away from him, pouring it into a plastic cup. She did the same for Bobby. "I swear you two drive me crazy sometimes. Don't you know it's illegal to drink in public?"

Bobby chuckled. "I don't think anyone around here cares much today." He glanced around. "Probably half the adults here are drinking something."

Kate glanced around at everyone pulling beers out of their own coolers. "Well you two won't be the ones that get arrested," she said firmly.

Bobby cleared his throat. "Dean told me the good news about your mom."

Dean watched as Kate's face fell a little. "Yeah, it's great isn't it? I know she was really worried about it."

"I was thinking though," Bobby said hesitantly, "You know, only if it was okay with your mom and you wanted to that is. But I was thinking that you could stay here for the summer. I know we had agreed that you'd go as soon as your mom found a place, but I guess it'd be alright with me. You already have a job and everything here, and if you stayed it'd give your mom some time to settle in."

"Really Bobby? Are you sure?" Kate asked excitedly.

"Wouldn't have said it was fine if it wasn't." Bobby said gruffly.

Kate squealed and threw her arms around her uncle. "Thank you, thank you!" she cried as she pressed kisses on his face.

"Will you stop that!" Bobby exclaimed but the grin on his face belied his harsh tone.

Kate looked over at Dean. Not caring that Bobby was sitting not two feet away, Dean leaned over and gave her a soft kiss. Then he gave her another, slightly longer, kiss.

Bobby's hand gripped the back of his shirt and pulled him back from her. "Idjit," Bobby muttered. "Can't you see I'm right here?"

Kate laughed, "Sorry Bobby," she said, not sounding sorry at all. "How about some fried chicken and potato salad to make it up to you?"


	7. Chapter 7

Dean pulled around to the back of the house and turned off the car with a sigh. It felt good being home again. Home…. He had stayed at Bobby's plenty over the years and never referred to it as home before. Maybe it was because he had been using it as his base instead of just staying in whatever crap motel there was along the highway.

He stepped out of the Chevy just as the back door flew open. "You're back!" Kate cried as she launched herself at him.

Dean staggered back a step as he caught her in mid air. "I told you I be back tonight." He breathed in the scent that she always wore and that always drove him crazy. "Where's Bobby?"

Kate frowned. "He got a call, one of his friends is sick. He went down to Ohio for a few days to give him a hand with stuff."

He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and lowered her to the ground. Dean reached into the car to grab his duffel from the back. "Normal stuff or my kind of stuff?"

"Normal stuff." Kate scowled. "What is this? You get home and I don't even get a real kiss?" She brushed her hand down the front of her dress. "Don't I look good?"

Dean dropped the bag and picked her back up. "You look very good." As Kate wrapped her legs around him, he kissed her passionately. Immediately he could feel his body start to respond. Five days without her and when he touched her he felt like he was a starving man.

"If you think I look good in this, you should see what I'm wearing underneath it," Kate teased.

"That's hot, that's so very hot," Dean muttered. Leaving the bag on the ground he carried her into the house, all the way upstairs, unwilling to let her go for even the short time it would take to get up there. Dean thought he would go crazy as Kate began nibbling on his ear and neck. "Hold on a minute," he growled as he pushed the bedroom door open far enough to walk through.

Kate laughed, her hand sliding between their bodies to pull at his t-shirt. "I don't think so," she said as she yanked the cotton up. Dean lowered her to the floor just as she succeeded in working the shirt over his head. Dean kicked off his boots as Kate unfastened his jeans and pushed them down his muscular thighs. "Sit," she commanded as she gave him a gentle shove.

Dean fell back onto the bed. He grabbed at her but Kate only leaned down and yanked the denim the rest of the way off. "Good things come to those who wait," she teased.

Standing up, she slowly peeled off the cardigan that covered her dress. Dean's eyes tracked her every move, every inch of skin that she bared caused his erection to grow. Her belt dropped to the floor with a muted thud and then she reached back and began to pull down the zipper of the dress. He could hear the zipper opening bit by bit. It was torture to wait, he wanted to grab her and rip the cotton right off of her. Finally she began to lower the straps off her shoulder.

"Dear God," he gasped as the dress pooled at her feet. He felt like all the blood has drained from his head and gone straight to his lap.

She was wearing a blue and white lace corset and matching panty. Her breasts were practically spilling out of the cups and her waist looked impossibly small. Dean swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly as dry as the Sahara.

"You like?" Kate asked, pivoting slowly in front of him. Dean nodded. "What's that? I didn't hear you," Kate said.

"I like it," Dean choked out. He reached out and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her in to stand between his legs. "I like it a lot."

Kate smiled. "I'm glad, I bought it with you in mind." Her mouth crashed down on his, kissing him hungrily. "I missed you," she breathed.

Grasping her tightly, Dean pulled her across the bed with him. His fingers fumbled at the fastenings down her back.

Kate grabbed his wrists and pulled them away. "Not just yet Dean," she whispered.

Dean gasped as Kate's mouth pressed against his chest, her teeth biting playfully at his skin, then her tongue flicking out to soothe. He bit back a moan as she slowly began to make her way down his stomach, her hair bushing against his skin. When her hand gripped his shaft tightly, his hips jerked upwards. "Kate," he pleaded.

She began to stroke him softly, her thumb spreading the fluid that had accumulated at the tip over the sensitive area. His eyes rolled back in his head as she lowered her head to him. Dean gathered her hair in his hands and gripped it tightly. He watched as she took him deeper into her mouth. His breath became ragged as she began working her head up and down, her tongue applying additional pressure to the sensitive underside. Dean groaned when she cupped his balls, squeezing gently. Kate pressed down, taking him in deep. Blood was pounding in his ears and he could feel his body begin to coil.

"Christ," he swore and unceremoniously pulled her up. Too impatient to undo the row of hooks, Dean grabbed the cloth and ripped. Kate gasped as he tore the fabric away from her. The pair of lace panties fared little better.

Dean shoved his fingers into her, and his head spun as he found her wet and ready for him. He pushed her thighs open and roughly thrust himself into her, burying himself up to the hilt. He shuddered as she cried out his name, her voice filled with pleasure.

"Katie, baby," he moaned, his mouth covering hers as he began to move. "You feel even better than I remember." He pulled her leg up higher on his hip, and he groaned as she arched against him. He lowered his head and began to bite and suck at her neck harshly. He wanted to be gentle, he really did, but he just couldn't.

He sat back and pushed Kate over, pulling her up so that she was kneeling. "Hold on," he told her, pushing himself into her from behind. Kate grabbed onto the headboard to steady herself as Dean reached down to rub her clit with one hand. He grasped her breast with his other hand and began to play with the nipple roughly. Kate's head fell back against his shoulder and she reached back to grip his hip. Over and over he thrust into her.

Just when he thought he couldn't hold back a moment longer, Kate cried out, her body tightening around his. Dean's teeth sunk into her shoulder as his own climax swept over him. Panting, they collapsed onto the bed, a tangle of limbs and sweat covered bodies.

Kate laughed as Dean's stomach growled just a few moments later. "Go jump in the shower and I'll go fix you something to eat," she said as she pushed herself up from the bed her and Dean had shared for the last few months. Leaning down, she held up a piece of shredded fabric and shook her head. "That's too bad, I really liked this."

Dean laughed, "So did I. I'll buy you a new one to make up for it."

Kate threw the tattered garment at him and yanked open a drawer. "Well if you're going to destroy my stuff, I'll just have to wear yours." She pulled on a pair of boxers and feed her arms into one of his button down shirts. "There, how do you like that?"

Dean reached out and pulled her back onto the bed. "I think I like that even better," he growled against her neck. He slid his hands into the open shirt to squeeze her breasts.

"Ouch," Kate complained. "Not so hard." She pushed at him. "If you're hungry you better get up. The kitchen is closing in five minutes."

Dean debated about pulling her back into bed again, but his stomach knotted painfully. Food first, they had all night.

* * *

"What the hell is that?" Dean asked as he came into the kitchen.

Kate rolled her eyes at him. "A dog is what I think they call it. More specifically, that one is called Rumsfeld."

Dean skirted warily around the Rottweiler who was sprawled out on the linoleum floor. "Well why is it in Bobby's kitchen?"

Kate moved over to the fridge and the dog lifted his head hopefully. "I found him out behind the bar the other night going through the trash bins." Kate leaned down and scratched him behind the ears. "I couldn't just leave him there. Look at him, he's just skin and bones."

The dog looked maybe a little underweight to Dean, it certainly was not "just skin and bones." Dean cleared his throat uncomfortably. "And Bobby was okay with this?"

"Of course Bobby was okay with it, he's the one that named him. You think I'd pick a name like Rumsfeld?" Dean could feel her eyeing him. "What's the matter with you anyways?" Kate's laugh floated through the air. "Are you afraid of him?"

"No," Dean protested. "I'm not afraid of dogs, I just…don't like dogs," he said lamely. "You know, they smell, they make messes…"

"You don't, do ya?" Kate tossed the dog a piece of food which he caught cleanly. "Nope, you're a good boy." The dog's tailless bum wiggled back and forth as if to agree.

Dean picked up a large envelope on the table that was addressed to Kate. "What's this?"

She set a plate of food down in front of him. "Bobby suggested it. There's a community college not far from here and although it's too late for the fall semester, I could apply for the spring." September had begun three weeks before, but there had been no more talk of Kate leaving.

Dean dug into the lasagna. "And you're mom was cool with this?" He groaned appreciatively, "This is so good."

Kate settled in across from him and smiled at the compliment. "She sounded a little bummed when I brought it up to her, but yeah, I think so. She wants to meet you though. I thought that maybe I could take a few days off of work next week and we could drive down to her place. It'd only take a half a day or so to get there."

Dean shifted uncomfortably. He'd never met anyone's mother before. "Where is she again?" he asked, not answering her question.

"I forget the name of the town that she's in, but it's not far outside of Des Moines." Kate looked at him hopefully. "Just think about it, alright?"

Dean grunted noncommittally as he shoveled more food into his mouth.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Kate said. "I made pie."

Dean's head jerked up. "Pie? What kind of pie?"

"Apple." Kate cut off a large piece and slid it across the table to Dean. "Eat up, you're going to need your strength."

* * *

For once he was up before Kate, and as tempted as he was to wake her, he let her sleep in knowing that she had to work that night. He brushed a light kiss against her forehead before slipping silently from the bed.

Dean shuffled down to the kitchen and had to stop and think about where the coffee filters were. It had been so long since he'd had to make a pot, Kate always did it. It was hard to believe that she'd only shown up here a little over three months ago. It seemed like she'd been here forever.

As soon as the coffee was done, he headed into the study. He'd make the coffee himself but he'd wait for her to make breakfast. She always made him a big breakfast after he got home.

He was flipping though some of Bobby's old books when the phone rang. "Yeah."

"Dean?" John Winchester's voice boomed out from the speaker. "What are you doing there?"

He took a sip of his coffee and grimaced, it was awful. He'd have to ask Kate to make another pot when she got up, she made much better coffee. "Hey Dad. What do you mean?"

"I mean, what are you doing at Bobby's. Why aren't you out hunting?" John asked impatiently. "And why the hell aren't you picking up your phones?"

Shit, he'd left his bag outside all night. "Sorry Dad, they're still in the car. I just got back last night." Dean paused awkwardly. His father had the ability to make him feel like he was still ten years old. "How's it going with you? You getting anywhere?"

"It's slow," John replied. "Since I couldn't get you, I was calling to tell Bobby to send you down to New Orleans. There's something going on down there. It's been in all the papers, I'm surprised you didn't see it."

Dean shifted uncomfortably. He hadn't been reading papers in towns that were so far from Sioux Falls. "I guess I missed it. What's going on?"

John Winchester grunted with disappointment. "A couple of strange deaths, the usual. In that neck of the woods, and from what the papers are saying, I'd guess Voodoo or even Hoodoo maybe."

"Alright, I'll pull up the papers right now and take a look."

"You're going to pull up the papers?" John asked scornfully. "What you should be doing is getting in your car and driving down there. What the hell is going on with you? I taught you better than this."

Dean opened his mouth but nothing came out.

"It's that girl, isn't it?" John asked. "I saw the way you were looking at her when I was there and I've never known you to hang around Bobby's for this long. Tell me Dean, how many hunts you been on since I left?"

"Six," Dean said quietly knowing what his father's reaction was going to be. Still he winced when John's voice boomed through the handset.

"Six!" John exploded. "You should have been on at least twice that many!"

"Dad, I-" Dean began.

"Quiet! What the hell where you thinking starting something with that girl?" John's voice softened slightly. "End it, now. Get your ass to New Orleans and check in with Bobby when it's done. Am I understood?"

Dean buried his head in his hands. "I hear you," he snapped when John asked him again. He returned the phone to the cradle and sat there for a long while before he pushed himself reluctantly to his feet. He climbed the stairs, each step feeling like he was marching to his death, and slowly pushed open the bedroom door.

Dean stood there and watched her sleep for a few minutes. She was on her side, her hair spread out on her pillow, a slight smile on her lips. One bare leg and breast peeked out from under the sheet. He leaned against the door jamb, taking in every detail that he could possibly remember, how the light from a crack in the drapes shimmered on the sheet, the small mole that was on the back of her left shoulder, even the color of the polish on her toes. Dean committed everything to his memory and then he turned and pulled open a drawer.

* * *

Kate opened her eyes slowly. "Sorry I woke you," Dean said.

"That's okay," she yawned. "What time is it?"

"Eight-thirty or so," Dean replied.

Kate watched as he gathered clothes from his drawers. "Why are you packing up? You just got home." She reached out towards him. "Come back to bed."

Dean continued shoving the clothes in his bag. "I have to go, there's a job."

There was something wrong about all this, Kate could feel it. "Were you going to leave without even saying bye?" she asked confused.

"I didn't want to wake you. I was going to leave a note." Dean zipped up the bag and headed out of the room.

Grabbing the sheet and wrapping it around her, Kate hurried after him calling his name. "Wait a minute." She caught up with him on the back porch and grabbed his arm, forcing him to stop. "What the hell is going on here Dean?" she demanded to know. Her heart was racing and her stomach was churning. She had never seen like this before. He was acting so cold.

"Nothing," he said pulling his arm loose. "I've got to get on the road."

Kate hurried after him, the sharp rocks on the driveway digging into her feet. "Nothing my ass, tell me what's wrong!"

Dean threw the duffel he had left outside the night before along with the bag he had just packed into the car and slammed the door. "This! This is all wrong. I've got a job to do, and I haven't been doing it. I don't belong here talking about college and trips to visit your mom. I should be out on the road," he said angrily.

"What are you talking about? I thought this was how it worked, you'd leave on a job and come back." Kate fought back the tears that threatened to spill over.

Dean dragged a hand through his hair. "Yeah, well it's not. I should have been on the road a lot more. I've been missing things, getting sloppy and I won't do that anymore." He moved to get into the car.

Kate grabbed at his arm, "Please just wait, I don't understand. Just come in and talk to me, make me understand." When Dean just stood there, she moved in front of him, forcing him to look at her. "Just five minutes Dean, please." She felt him begin to soften under her hands. "Just come tell me what happened."

Dean shook her off. "Nothing happened Kate. You hear me? Nothing." He pushed her back, causing her to stumble slightly. Swearing he pounded on the hood of the car before turning back to her. "What'd you think was going to happen Kate? Did you think that we'd get married and have kids? Because that's never going to happen, that's not who I am. Guys like me, we don't have families."

"Don't do this," Kate whispered as she began to cry softly.

Dean looked down at her coldly. "It's been fun Kate, but that's all it was, a little vacation. And it's time it ended and I got back to work." Before she could react, Dean climbed into the Impala and started down the driveway.

Kate stood there for a while, wrapped only in the sheet, completely unaware of the cold September morning or the pain of the rocks that were cutting into her feet. She stood there, staring at the spot where she had last seen him while tears rolled freely down her face.

* * *

"Hey Bobby, it's me." Dean said tiredly.

"Give me one good reason I don't come down there and kick your teeth in," Bobby snarled.

"Look, is she there? I want to talk to her." Dean said softly. He felt awful about how things went. He didn't know if it was a good idea, but he wanted to apologize.

Dean heard Bobby huff. "No you idjit, she's not here. She packed up and left town a few days after I got back."

Dean slammed his head painfully against the motel room headboard. He supposed he should be grateful that she was gone, he'd never be able to go back to Bobby's if she was there. There was no way he'd ever be able to say goodbye to her again. He'd barely even made it down the driveway the first time.

"I'm sorry Bobby, I really am," Dean paused but when he got no response he continued. "Look, I'm heading over to Tennessee. I think there's something there. Will you let my dad know next time he checks in?"

"I'm not your answering service Dean, call him your damn self."

Dean sighed when he heard the phone go dead. The last thing he wanted to do was piss off Bobby with all this. Well, the last thing he had wanted to do had been to hurt her and he had certainly managed to do that.

Scooting down into the bed, Dean closed his eyes. He thought about how her hair looked on the pillow, the curve of her leg, the small smile on her face as she slept, and of course that small mole on the back of her left shoulder.

* * *

"Bobby, hey, it's Dean. Have you heard from Dad? I can't seem to reach him. Call me."

"Bobby, hey, it's Dean again. I'm still looking for Dad. He's not answering his phones. That seems to be going around a lot lately. Just call me if you've talked to him. Please?"

"It's Dean again. It's been over three weeks Bobby. Are you ever going to pick up my calls again? I still haven't heard from Dad and I'm really starting to get worried. Call me."

"Dean, it's Bobby. I haven't heard from your father. I think it's time that maybe you go get Sam, he needs to know what's going on. In the mean time, I'll text you the details of the last place your father was."

* * *

**Hope everyone had a safe and happy New Year! (And is now completely recovered from the disgusting amount of alcohol that was consumed.) As you can see, that's the end of the Dean and Kate's happy story. Sam will be back next chapter for those of you that have been missing him. As always, please review. I don't know about you, but I was actually feeling pretty badly for Dean, even if he was acting like a schmuck. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry it took me so long to get this out, it's just been a crazy week! Hope you all enjoy it and please remember to review. (You guys are killing me with this.)**

* * *

"What'd he say again?" Dean asked.

Sam looked down at his phone for what was probably the thousandth time this hour. "Nothing specific, just what I already told you." When Dean gave him a hard look he sighed. "He just said that we needed to get back to his place ASAP. That we shouldn't stop unless we absolutely had to. That's it, and then the line went dead."

Dean looked over at his brother. "And now he's not picking up." He hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand. "Great. Did you try his other phone?"

"I tried all his lines Dean. Bobby's not answering," Sam said with infinite patience.

"Crap," Dean muttered. "What the hell else can go wrong lately?" The last six months had been hell, literately. Ever since the last seal had been broken, letting Lucifer out of hell, things had just been going from bad to worse. Not the least of which was Sam. He couldn't help but worry about his little brother.

Still, Bobby wasn't one for over exaggeration, and it made him nervous. Dean pressed his foot harder onto the pedal and was rewarded with the engine roaring louder. "At least we're not far."

* * *

"Just park out front Dean, don't bother going around to the back."

He didn't need to be told twice, he wanted to get into that house as quick as possible. Slamming the car into park, Dean took off running towards the house. He could hear the heavy footfalls of his brother behind him. He drew his gun and burst through the door.

He barely made it through the doorway when he skid to a halt. Sam slammed into the back of him but besides taking a step or two to keep from falling down, Dean barely noticed. All his attention was on the woman standing in front of him.

"Kate?" he breathed. "What's going on? You alright? Where's Bobby?" His eyes skimmed over her, looking for some sort of injuries, so he didn't see when her face twisted angrily.

"Uh!" he cried out in shock as her hand shot out and slapped him across the face.

"What did you do?" she screamed as she launched herself off the stairs at him. Her fists beat against him, an occasional slap making its way to his face. "What did you do? This is your fault, they told me it was your fault!"

Dean reached up to grab her, but he didn't push her away, or even try to stop her from hitting him. It was Sam that stepped around him and pulled her away. She struggled against him, trying to get back at Dean, but she was no match for Sam's six-five, two hundred and ten pound frame. After a minute or two she stopped trying to kick Dean and concentrated on just getting loose from Sam.

"Let her go," Bobby commanded as he walked into the room. Taking a now sobbing Kate's arm, he led her gently to the couch. "Sit down," he told the boys. "I'm going to get us all some drinks. We're all gonna need them," he muttered under his breath.

Dean stared at Kate in shock. She looked the same, only a little older. Her face had thinned out somewhat, while her body seemed a bit softer, a little curvier. Seeing her brought back feelings he thought he'd buried. Dean had to fight the urge to walk over and pull her into his arms.

"What's going on Bobby?" Sam asked as he settled in to a chair.

"Sit down Dean," the older man passed him a drink before moving over to sit on the couch next to Kate. "Do you want me to tell them?"

Kate shook her head and downed the glass of bourbon in one swallow. "No, I'll do it."

Bobby grabbed the bottle of booze off the coffee table and immediately filled her glass back up. Dean was aware of Sam sending him an anxious look; it wasn't like Bobby to pour booze like that for anyone but himself. He always said that if you wanted to get drunk, you could do it yourself.

A feeling of dread curled in Dean's stomach as he perched himself on the edge of a chair. What the hell had brought her back here? It had to be something big. He leaned forward anxiously to hear what Kate had to say.

"I got home from work yesterday and there were people in my house, two men and a woman. I had never seen any of them before." Kate took another sip of her drink. "They had my daughter. She was crying and I could see their fingers digging into her arms." She took a ragged breath and wiped at the tears that were flowing down her cheeks. "They told me that if I wanted to see her again, I should come find you two." Kate lifted her eyes to Dean's. He could feel waves of anger coming off of her. "That you would know what they wanted. One of them hit me and when I woke up they were gone."

"Why would they take your daughter and why would that have anything to do with us?" Sam asked confused.

"Because she's Dean's daughter too," Bobby said. "Whoever they are, they're going to use her as leverage to get what they want."

Dean felt as though someone kicked him in the gut. He didn't even hear Sam's shocked intake of breath. Looking at Kate though, he had no doubt Bobby was telling the truth.

* * *

"It's got to be, Dean. Can you think of anyone else with a reason to do this? Or how anyone else would even know? She said the only person, besides Bobby, who knew that you were Lily's father, was her mother and she died years ago. You're not even listed on the birth certificate."

Dean glanced over to where Kate was crying softly on the couch. Every one of her sobs seemed to tear right through him. "So angels or demons. Awesome, that's just great. They're what, using Lily to get me to say yes to being Michael's vessel? I get that for the angels but what's in it for the demons?"

"They want to bring about the apocalypse as badly as the angels. I was thinking though, maybe it's not all bad. Maybe Cass can help us figure out who's got her."

"Good idea," he clasped his hand on Sam's shoulder in appreciation. "Cass! Castiel!" Dean called out angrily. "Get your feathery butt down here!" He waited but there was no rush of air that typically accompanied Castiel's arrival. Dean had just thrown his hands up in disgust when suddenly Kate screamed softly.

"How the hell-? He just appeared!"

"It's alright," Sam reassured her. "We know him."

"What the hell took you so long Cass?" Dean snarled.

Castiel's head cocked to the side. "I told you, I've been looking for God. I was in the Democratic Republic of Congo and I must say, I don't think God is in the Congo." Castiel gave a slight shudder.

"Great Cass, that's just great. I'm glad you figured that out. Thanks for the world news." Dean snapped. Usually he could handle Castiel's odd behavior but tonight he had no patience.

"Um, Castiel," Sam interrupted. "We could use your help." He steered the odd man over towards the couch. "This is Kate, she's umm…" Sam trailed off as he looked for a delicate way to put things.

"She's the mother of Dean's child, yes I know." Castiel said in his typically flat voice.

Dean huffed. "Did everyone but me know?" He tossed back the bourbon and briefly considered pouring himself another two fingers.

"Dean focus," Sam said to him before turning his attention back to Castiel. "Right, here's the thing. Some people came and took her daughter today. We've figured out that it's got to be either angels or demons." Castiel continued to look at Sam blankly.

Dean cut in impatiently, "We're asking for your help Cass, to see if the angels have her."

"You know I've been banished from heaven Dean." Castiel glanced over at Kate who was staring at him with wide eyes. "But there may be one or two of my brothers and sisters that I can ask." He added somewhat reluctantly.

Dean filled with relief, "That'd be gre-," he began but the angel disappeared. "We'll just be sitting here, waiting for you!" He yelled into the air. Turning away he muttered, "Friggin' angels."

"Was that a real angel?" Kate asked. "From heaven and everything?" When Sam nodded, she got up. "I'm going to need another drink. This is all too weird."

Dean looked over at Sam and Bobby and jerked his head, indicating that they should go. Now that something was being done about finding Lily, he wanted to have a talk with Kate.

Dean ignored the hard look Bobby gave him as he passed by. Dean waited until the two men rounded the corner to the kitchen. "Kate, why didn't you tell me?" he asked quietly.

She looked over her shoulder at him and scoffed. "I think it was pretty clear that a family wasn't something that you wanted the last time we talked."

Memories of that September morning came rushing back. "Did you know?"

"What? That I was pregnant when you left me standing in the driveway, naked with just a sheet wrapped around me without any decent explanation, just a, 'So long, it's been fun,'? Is that what you mean? If so, the answer is no, I didn't find out until about a week or so later."

He hated the way she was looking at him, all hard and unforgiving. "And that's when you left to go to your mother's."

Kate raised her glass to him and gave him a little mock salute. "Congratulations," she said sarcastically. "You figured it out." She walked over to one of the windows and started out towards the backyard. "You know, at first I'd thought I'd stick around here, wait for you to come back or even just call… but you didn't. And once I found out that I was pregnant, I realized that I couldn't just wait here for you any longer."

Dean tried again, "You still-"

Kate spun around, her face furious. "Still what Dean? Don't you think I wanted to tell you? That I didn't pick up the phone a thousand times to tell you?" Kate wiped around tears angrily. "My mother died three weeks before I gave birth to Lily, did you know that? I was all alone, I had no one in that delivery room with me. You cannot imagine how terrifying that was."

Dean moved to touch her but she shied away from him. He sighed and stepped back to the other end of the couch.

"I was nineteen years old with no family around, no money, no education and a brand new baby. I worked two jobs and went to night school. Do you have any idea how hard that it?" She took a breath. "But I made it through, I got my RN and got a good job. It wasn't the way I had imagined it, but I built a life for Lily and me."

He understood where she was coming from, but still, to hide something like that from him… it wasn't right. Anger welled up in him. "I had a right to know!" he spat at her. "You shouldn't have kept it from me!"

Kate laughed. "And what would you have done if you had known? Drop by two or three times a year? Recuperate at my house instead of Bobby's whenever you broke a bone?" Kate's blue eyes were blazing. "You wouldn't have been any type of father Dean. No father is better than one that comes and goes with no explanation. She would have asked where you go when you left and what would you have told her?"

Dean paced angrily around the room. "I don't know, but we could have figured it out. She's my kid too, Kate."

Kate shook her head, "I never wanted her exposed to any of this Dean," She fixed him with a hard glare. "And that included you. Not to mention that it seemed as though you and your family had gotten themselves smack into some type of war with a demon around that time." Kate shook her head, "No, I wasn't about to do that to her. Besides, there's more to being a parent than just donating sperm. I was the one that paced up and down the hospital halls when she ran a fever at ten days old. I was there for her first word and I kissed her bruises when she fell down. I hugged her and told her that there was no such thing as monsters when she had a nightmare, even though I took a gun and looked under the bed and in the closet. I took care of my daughter all on my own. MY daughter Dean, not yours." Slamming her glass down onto the bookcase, she brushed around him.

Dean watched her head up the stairs and then sunk down into a chair. Putting his head in his hands he closed his eyes. Kate must have been terrified to be all on her own, but she never reached out to him. How much must she have hated him to not want his help at all?

"Well, that went better than I thought," Sam said from behind him.

Dean glowered at him. "How the hell is that possible?"

Sam shrugged. "She didn't shoot you." He shot his brother a wry grin.

* * *

Dean jerked awake to find Castiel standing over him. "Damn it Cass, how many times do I have to tell you not to do that? It's just creepy." He swung his legs over the side of the couch. "What'd you find out?"

"It's not the angels, but they're not upset that it happened. They know how you and Sam feel about family and if it is Lucifer that took her then..." he trailed off.

Dean could feel the rage starting to build up but he pushed it back down. He needed to be able to think clearly. "So all this is to try to get me and Sam to say yes."

Castiel nodded. "They think that Lucifer is using her as leverage. He's probably hoping that you and Sam will agree to become his and Michael's vessels in order to save her."

"And they don't care that they're a little five year old girl that stuck in the middle of this? That doesn't matter to them?" Dean spat out.

"No," Castiel said. "That wouldn't matter to them. They want to start the apocalypse but they need you and Sam to agree first. They would do anything to see that it happens." The angel leaned over and touched Dean's shoulder. "I'm sorry Dean, I can see that this is hurting you, all of it."

"Yeah well, it's nothing that I didn't bring on myself I suppose," Dean muttered. "I can't help thinking that all of this would have been avoided if I'd just stayed here with her."

"And many people would have died if you had. You made a decision Dean, and right or wrong you made it for a reason."

"She's my kid Cass and she's out there somewhere." Dean leaned his head against the back of the couch and shut his eyes. "She's out there with demons and who knows what they're doing to her," Dean said the thought that had been tormenting him ever since this whole thing had started.

"Dean, Lucifer knows that there's nothing to gain by hurting her. I do believe he'll make sure that she's well taken care of."

Dean wiped his hand over his face tiredly. "I've never even seen her."

Castiel looked down at him. "She looks like her mother. She's quite… pretty."

Dean looked up at the angel in shock. "Wait, you've met her?"

"Not exactly. I've looked in on her from time to time since we've met."

Dean threw up his hands in frustration when the angel didn't say anything else. Sometimes trying to get information out of the angel was as useless as trying to dig a hole to China. "Well what's she like Cass?"

He sounded confused by Dean's question as he answered. "She's very much like other children. She likes to laugh and for some reason she's always in trees." Castiel's eyebrows drew together as he thought about that. "I don't understand the appeal."

Dean chuckled and was debating explaining the joys of climbing trees as a kid, but before he could say anything Castiel turned around and started up the stairs. "Where the hell you going Cass?" Dean pushed himself off the couch to follow him.

"I must see Kate," he called back to Dean. Castiel pushed open the door to the room that Dean used to share with Kate. She was there, clothes still on, curled up on top of the bedspread, a corner of the fabric pulled over to cover her.

As the angel moved to enter the room, Dean reached out and grabbed his arm. "Cass, what are you doing?"

"She needs protection Dean. If Lucifer doesn't get what he wants, there's nothing to stop him from taking her too."

Dean grimaced at the thought. "Let me wake her," he said as he headed into the room. "Kate, wake up," he said softly.

Instantly her eyes flew open and she pushed herself on her hand. "What is it?" She saw Castiel standing in the doorway. "Did you find her?" Kate asked hopefully.

Castiel shook his head. "The angels don't have her. I'm sorry."

Kate hung her head and sighed. Looking at Dean she asked, "So what does this mean?"

Tentatively he sat on the bed next to her. "It means Lucifer most likely has her stashed away someplace." When Kate's eyes went wide, he hurried on. "Cass doesn't think that they'll hurt her but we need to start worrying about you." Dean reached out and placed his hand on her arm, but pulled it back when she flinched. "Kate, you can't stay here, they might come looking for you."

"Where am I going to go that the devil can't find me Dean?"

Cass stepped forward. "I can ward you from angels, which includes Lucifer. This will hurt." He reached out his hand towards her but Kate scooted back on the bed.

"Just wait a second. Maybe we should let him take me if that's what he's going to do. Maybe we can figure out a way to track me if he does and then we'll know where Lily is."

"No!" Dean exploded loudly enough to cause her to jump. He tried to calm his racing heart. "There's no guarantee that he'll even take you to the same place as Lily and then we'd be wasting time trying to get to you. We can't take that risk Kate."

"Are you sure?" she asked him. "There's got to be some way to make it work. Maybe if we-"

Dean shook his head. "There's no fricking way that you're going to do that. It's a stupid plan Kate."

Castiel spoke up; Dean had almost forgotten that he was here. "He's right Kate. Lucifer would take you only if things aren't going his way. He's not the most patient of angels. If he takes you, he'll torture you." He cleared his throat. "It would be unpleasant."

Kate's eyebrows shot up. "Is he serious?"

Castiel cocked his head to the side. "I'm always serious."

Dean shrugged. "Yeah, this is pretty much his….normal. He's also right. Just let him do this, alright?"

Kate bit her lip and finally nodded. "What's he going to do exactly?"

"Hide you," Castiel said and touched her. A bright glow emanated from where his hand touched her skin.

Dean's teeth clamped together as Kate's body arched. He remembered the pain all too well. At least it didn't last long.

Castiel released her and Kate fell back panting. She rubbed at her ribs. "Jesus that sucked." She lifted her shirt and looked at the flawless skin. "I felt like I was on fire."

"It's your ribs, he's burned Enochian sigils into your bones." Dean forced himself to tear his eyes away from her flat stomach. It was hard to believe that she'd had a baby.

"No angel will be able to find you now," Castiel added. "I must go." He disappeared with a slight flutter of air and a popping sound.

Dean turned back to Kate. "You can't go back to your apartment. We'll find somewhere for you to stay while we look for Lily." Dean looked her over. Her eyes were puffy and red from crying and she looked exhausted. He stood up and pushed the covers down. "Climb in and get some sleep. We'll figure out a plan first thing in the morning."

"Hold up for a second Dean," Kate went over to her purse and rummaged around for a second. "You might as well know what you're fighting for." She turned and passed Dean a photo. "You can have this one, I have plenty."

Dean looked down at the photo. It showed Kate with a little girl. "She has my eyes," Dean said softly.

"She does," Kate admitted almost reluctantly. "She's got your smile too."

Dean pulled his eyes up from the picture. "Thanks."

Kate nodded curtly. "I'll see you in the morning."

Dean headed back downstairs. Switching on the light in the living room, he threw himself down onto the lumpy couch to stare at the photograph.

If he had passed Lily on the street, he would have stopped to take a second look. She was almost the spitting image of Kate, so similar to her mother that he wouldn't have been able to help but wonder. She shared Kate's coloring, but even more than that, Lily also had the same full lips, slightly angular nose and high cheekbones. The smile and eyes though, they were his.

Kate and Lily were cheek to cheek in the picture, and Dean could see that there were balloons and streamers in the background. He wondered if the picture had been taken at a birthday party, maybe even Lily's. He studied the picture over and over again until he fell asleep. He dreamed of a backyard party, complete with a bouncy house and a teddy bear cake. He could see some man over by the grill making hamburgers and he couldn't help but wonder who he was.

* * *

Kate's voice drifted in from the kitchen. "I thought I was the only one that ever cooked around here. Umm, good coffee too."

Sam snickered, "Yeah, cooking's not real high on the list of skills for a hunter. You learn to make do on take out and fast food."

Dean forced his eyes open as a clatter reverberated through the downstairs. "Oops," Kate said. "I guess Bobby moved some things around."

"I remember you, you know. From Dean's funeral I mean," Sam said.

"You do? You were pretty broken up that day, I'm a little shocked that you remember anything."

Dean could almost see his little brother shrug. "You're hard to forget, especially when there's only six people there. I don't remember seeing your little girl there though."

"No, I didn't bring her. She was too little to understand and she never knew Dean anyways. It probably would have created more confusion for her."

"But you weren't surprised to see Dean alive yesterday." It was more of a statement and less of a question.

"Please," Kate laughed. "I think Bobby called me the second Dean showed up. He was so happy he almost burst telling me. Of course it took me forever to understand that Dean really was alive, that it wasn't some trick."

"Was that hard for you?" Sam asked hesitantly.

Kate was quiet for so long, Dean thought he had missed her answer. Finally he heard her voice. "Yes and no. I mean, I was glad he was alive, don't get me wrong. I never asked about Dean, even before that. But Bobby….. let's just say you boys are like his kids. He can't help but brag about you to anyone that'll listen, and coming back from hell, that's a big thing."

"I guess it is," Sam said. "Pass me that spatula, would you?"

Dean waited for a few minutes to see if she was going to say anything else and then stretched and pushed himself up from the couch. Stumbling into the kitchen, he reached for the cup of coffee Kate held out. "Thanks," he grunted.

"You get any sleep?" Sam asked.

"Some," Dean took a sip of the hot brew. "I think I've come up with a plan."

"Well what is it?" Bobby said impatiently from the doorway. "Not that I don't love you boys but you're messing up my house."

Kate rolled her eyes at Bobby. "Shut up you ornery old man, let Dean talk."

Bobby chuckled and walked over to her. "I've missed you girl." He kissed her forehead.

Dean cleared his throat, impatient to get things in motion. "First things first, we have to get Kate somewhere safe. I was thinking about calling Ellen and Jo and seeing if they'd take her. Then, Sam and I can go round up some demons and start prying out some information. One of them is going to know where they're keeping Lily."

"That's it?" Kate asked incredulously. "That's your big plan?"

Bobby sat himself down at the table. "Sounds like a good a plan as any. Any idea where you boys are going to start?"

Dean started to speak but Kate interrupted him. "Well I've decided that I'm going with Dean and Sam," she declared. "I'm not about to be shipped off somewhere to twiddle my thumbs while I'm just waiting around for news."

All three men started protesting at once, their voices overlapping. Kate simply held up her hands. "You can either take me with you, or I'm going on my own. I've already taken a leave of absence from my job and I have a girlfriend that'll handle anything that comes up in the meantime. She thinks I'm off taking care of a sick uncle."

Bobby started sputtering incoherently while Sam simply sat down and looked over at Dean.

Dean had about a thousand reasons why she shouldn't go, but he knew that all of them wouldn't matter to her. He'd have to tie her up to keep her from going and even then he wasn't sure if that would work. "Fine, but we're going to have to make a stop first."

Kate's body relaxed visibly. "Where?" she asked.

Dean smiled, "You'll see. As soon as we're done eating, get your stuff together. I want to be on the road by ten."

* * *

Dean walked over to deposit his plate and mug in the kitchen sink. "I'll be damned," he muttered. Almost in a trance, he headed out the back door.

He was standing in the driveway looking at the Plymouth Barracuda when Kate came out the back door. "I'm ready."

"I can't believe you still have it," Dean said, his hand running over the dark green paint. The car was in great shape, not a scratch on it. Just seeing it brought back memories of spending nights talking to Kate while he was working on it in one of the outbuildings.

"It's a good car," Kate walked up to stand next to him. "Never had anything major go wrong with it. I swear my mechanic charges me less simply because he likes working on it. I never saw a reason to get rid of it."

He glanced over at her. "Brings back some good memories, like trying to teach you the difference between a crescent and socket wrench. " He gave her a tentative smile, hoping to see something of the girl he once knew.

She pushed her hair back from where it had fallen in her eyes. "We should get going, Sam is waiting for us out front."

"Kate," he stopped her. "I never thought that they'd go after you. I would have tried to protect you." He searched her face for any sign of forgiveness.

She exhaled heavily, her eyes drifting over to look at the car. "Despite what I said last night, I don't blame you Dean. There's no way you could have stopped this." She turned back to face him. "Just find her. That's all I want, is to find her."

Dean reached out to her but Kate had already pivoted to head back into the house.

* * *

Kate looked at the designs on the wall. "A tattoo? You want me to get a tattoo?"

Dean smiled, he remembered Kate's opinion about tattoos. She liked them on others but had always been very adamant about the fact that she never wanted one herself.

Sam pulled down the collar of his shirt to show her his. "It's not just any tattoo. Demons won't be able to possess you."

Kate rose on her tiptoes to study the design. "Right, and if we're going demon hunting I'm going to need one." She wrinkled her nose. "It's a little ugly. Do I need to get it there?"

Sam chuckled at her question. "No you can get it wherever you want."

Kate wiped her hands against her jeans. "Great, let's get this over with."

Dean moved off to talk to the artist while Sam drew a copy of what they wanted. "He can take you now."

Kate swallowed and stood up. "Where are you going?" she asked when Dean went to follow her.

"Someone's got to make sure he does it right. It's got to be exact." Dean explained to her.

She nodded. "Alright, I can understand that." She turned to face Sam. "Come on Sam. You can keep me company." She looked back at Dean. "Just because I don't blame you for this doesn't mean that I want to spend any more time than what's necessary in your company." She headed for the room the tattoo artist had gone into.

Sam shot Dean an uneasy look as he rose. "Just go," Dean grumbled. He watched Sam follow Kate into the room and shut the door. "Son of a bitch," he muttered as he dropped into an uncomfortable chair. He picked up a magazine and started to thumb through it. After a minute though, he tossed it aside and simply fixed his eyes on the closed door.

* * *

"Spill, what's up with you man?" Dean asked over lunch when Kate went to use the bathroom.

A blush crept up Sam's neck. He cleared his throat. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Dean watched as Sam studied the menu much harder than the five lunch selections warranted. Reaching across the table, Dean ripped the plastic out of his hands. "You've been acting squirrely ever since the tattoo parlor. What's the matter with you?"

Sam sat back in his chair and sighed, his eyes not quite meeting Dean's. "Nothing, nothing's wrong with me," he protested.

Dean didn't believe him for a second. "I can do this all day man. Is there something wrong with her tattoo? Cause if there is Sammy-"

Sam's lips pressed together so hard they turned white. "No the tattoo is perfect." He cleared his throat uncomfortably. "I wasn't going to say anything, it's just _where_ she got the tattoo."

When Sam didn't say anything else, Dean threw up his hands. "Spit it out man. What? She get it on her lower back?" Sam shook his head. "Her chest?" Dean growled tense at the thought of Sam seeing Kate's breasts.

Sam's eyebrows shot up and he shook his head. "No, I wish. Let's just say it won't show in a bikini."

Dean's fists clenched. "How small of a bikini?" he asked, his voice tight.

Sam turned bright red. "Very small."

It was actually painful for Dean to unclench his jaw. "Great Sammy, that's really great. Now I'm going to have that thought in my head all day." He tossed his napkin onto the table. "Awesome."

Sam spoke so softly that Dean barely heard him. "How you think I feel?"

Dean was fighting the urge to reach over the table and strangle his brother when Kate sat down. "You two figure out what you're ordering?" Sam and Dean looked at her with pained expressions. "What?" she asked.


End file.
